Snakelite is an offshoot of <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://civarchive.com/models/2068592/snakebite-2">Snakebite 2.4</a> that strives for realistic, pleasantly-imperfect photography. It is more experimental than Snakebite and can change drastically from version to version.Note: All demo images generated using <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://civarchive.com/models/1608870/dmd2-speed-lora-sdxl-pony-illustrious">DMD2 LoRA</a> at full strength.❤️ If you enjoy Snakelite, you can help offset the cost of training:<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://ko-fi.com/liftweights">Buy liftweights a Coffee</a><hr /><h2 id="important:">⚠️ IMPORTANT:</h2>This model uses Flow Matching, so you must connect it to the ModelSamplingSD3 node in ComfyUI to get correct results. Even better is <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://github.com/SparknightLLC/ComfyUI-ModelSamplingSD3Advanced">ModelSamplingSD3Advanced</a>.<hr /><h2 id="technical-details">🤓 Technical details</h2>Over the course of Snakebite 2, I developed a complex merging chain that consisted of around 15 LoRAs - each contributing to model consistency, fine detail, and vivid colors. I'm very happy with the results and I believe <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://civarchive.com/models/2068592/snakebite-2">v2.4</a> represents the peak of SDXL realism in some ways.However, these efforts came at a cost. Snakebite has a tendency to make things look "too perfect" in a Hollywood sort of way. This limits facial diversity and affects compatibility with your LoRAs. It can also suffer from "stylistic collapse": if your prompt is very complex or unusual, Snakebite may struggle to maintain the intended style in its pursuit of aesthetic perfection.Enter Snakelite:<ol><li>I have radically simplified my merging chain down to 5 LoRAs. I'm still trying to improve the baseline quality of bigASP, but only in ways that avoid the side effects described above.</li><li>I mixed in some Lustify to impart an "amateur photography" feeling. As a result, Snakelite may have potential as a successor to the beloved-but-aging BigLust 1.6/1.7.</li><li>Snakelite is still finetuned on the same 1400 images as Snakebite 2.3 for improved aesthetics.</li></ol>Which version is best is a matter of taste, but I'm guessing there are many Civitai users who may prefer the look of this new model. Let me know what you think!<hr /><h2 id="advantages-over-snakebite-v2.4">👍 Advantages over Snakebite v2.4</h2><ul><li>Colors are more natural, and photographs look more like photographs.</li><li>Small faces have more detail.</li><li>Better at retaining photographic style even if pushed hard with crazy prompts.</li><li>Highly compatible with LoRAs trained on BigLust. (edit - this specifically applies to v1.0, not v1.1)</li><li>A bit more tolerant of "quality-boosting" embeddings and LoRAs. You can use DMD2 at full strength or experiment with your own acceleration stacks.</li></ul><h2 id="disadvantages">👎 Disadvantages</h2><ul><li>Not as vivid, sharp, or as contrasty as Snakebite 2.4.</li><li>Lower success rate with limbs, extremities, and complex interactions.</li><li>Concepts that are unique to bigASP 2.5 are not represented quite as well.</li></ul><hr /><h2 id="recommended-settings">🛠️ Recommended Settings</h2>&gt;=v1.1 (special because they use bigASP 2.6):<ul><li>8-9 steps</li><li>LCM sampler</li><li>Beta scheduler</li><li>CFG 1</li><li>DMD2 LoRA at full strength</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://github.com/SparknightLLC/ComfyUI-ModelSamplingSD3Advanced">ModelSamplingSD3Advanced</a>; decay from 3 to 1</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://github.com/SparknightLLC/ComfyUI-LatentDetailer">LatentDetailer</a></li></ul>👉 Optimized Workflow (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) 👈 <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://pastebin.com/pZ022SD4">https://pastebin.com/pZ022SD4</a>v1.0 with DMD2:<ul><li>6-9 steps</li><li>LCM sampler</li><li>Beta, normal, or simple scheduler</li><li>CFG 1</li><li>Model shift of 3</li></ul>v1.0 without DMD2:<ul><li>25-40 steps</li><li>Euler ancestral sampler for speed, dpmpp_2s_ancestral for quality</li><li>Simple scheduler</li><li>CFG 4-6</li><li>Model shift of 3</li><li>Negative prompt strongly recommended (e.g. <code>worst quality</code>)</li></ul>Note: increasing the model shift may improve prompt adherence at the cost of quality. This is particularly useful with character LoRAs. Try a value between 6-8.<hr />Thank you. As always, I look forward to your feedback. Please share the model and upload some images to help it gain traction. It would be amazing if we could make Snakebite eligible for Civitai's onsite generator someday!

Snakelite

This version replaces the bigASP 2.6 preview with the <a rel="ugc" href="https://huggingface.co/fancyfeast/bigaspv26-training/tree/main">2.6 final checkpoint</a>.After much testing, I settled on keeping our custom BA 2.5-based CLIP-L model + BA 2.6's CLIP-G. When adding even a little of 2.6's CLIP-L, images tend to get "cloudy" or washed out. I suspect this is an issue with bigASP and not this merge, but I haven't confirmed for certain yet.I also tweaked merge weights to draw out better textures from the model.Overall, I would consider this a sidegrade to Snakelite 1.2.Pros:<ul><li>Improved prompt adherence</li><li>Better at fantastical/uncommon concepts</li></ul>Cons:<ul><li>Slightly less stable</li><li>Slightly less aesthetically pleasing in some cases</li></ul>Have fun!

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