noobai-vpred-prompting

# NoobAI-XL V-Pred Prompting [NoobAI-XL V-Pred](https://huggingface.co/Laxhar/noobai-XL-Vpred-1.0) is Laxhar Labs' Illustrious-XL fine-tune on Danbooru + e621 (NebulaeWis's `e621-2024-webp-4Mpixel`), running in **v-prediction** mode. Write the `prompt` and `negative` you pass to the `generate_image` tool per the rules below to drive it well on the first call. The v-pred constraints are non-negotiable - the model card opens with "THIS MODEL WORKS DIFFERENT FROM EPS MODELS!" The rules here are specific to the v-prediction variant; an eps-prediction model wants different sampler / CFG settings. NoobAI supports Danbooru and e621 tag namespaces plus natural-language captions. Because of the e621 training, you **must** add anti-furry tags to the negative when you want pure anime output. **Safe default when unsure:** use the NoobAI v-pred workflow; lead the `prompt` with `masterpiece, best quality, newest, absurdres, highres, safe,`, add roughly 8-15 caption-order tags for the subject, and always pass the recommended `negative` below **including its anti-furry block**. Keep the workflow at Euler + v-prediction + zsnr and CFG 4-5. Everything below is how to do better than this default when the request calls for it. ## The `generate_image` call | Arg | For NoobAI-XL v-pred | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `prompt` | Required. Lead with the prefix below; then the caption order. | | `negative` | Required. Start from the recommended negative below - it includes anti-furry tags. | | `workflow` | Use the NoobAI v-pred workflow; the scheduler / sampler in it must be Euler + v_prediction + zsnr. | | `width` / `height` | Total area ~1024x1024. Best: 768x1344, **832x1216**, 896x1152, 1024x1024, 1152x896, 1216x832, 1344x768. | | `steps` | 28-35. | | `cfg` | 4-5. **Do not push past 5** - v-pred burns at high CFG. | | `seed` | Omit for a fresh random image; pass a prior seed to reproduce or vary. | Do not pass `inputImage` unless the workflow is a NoobAI img2img variant. ## Positive prompt recipe 1. **Required prefix:** `masterpiece, best quality, newest, absurdres, highres, safe,` - `newest` is a period tag for 2021-2024 art - swap it (see [Date tags](#date-tags)) if you want an older look. - Drop `safe` only if the user explicitly wants `sensitive` / `nsfw`; mirror the change in the negative. 2. **Caption order:** `<1girl/1boy/1other/...>, <character>, <series>, <artists>, <special tags>, <general tags>, <other tags>`. 3. **Artists use `artist:name` syntax**, comma-joined: `artist:john_kafka, artist:nixeu, artist:quasarcake`. Multi-word artist names keep the underscore (`john_kafka`). Do **not** use an `@` prefix on artists. 4. **Lowercase tags, spaces over underscores** in general tags; multi-word Danbooru proper nouns may keep underscores. 5. **Escape literal parentheses** with backslash: `arlecchino \(genshin impact\)`, `horror \(theme\)`. 6. **Name then describe characters.** Multiple characters -> describe each separately to avoid conflation. 7. **Be specific.** Like Illustrious, NoobAI has no aggressive aesthetic baked in - short prompts come out bland. 8. **Optional aesthetic boost:** add `very awa` to the positive prompt (top 5% waifu-scorer aesthetic) when you want maximum polish; pair with `worst aesthetic` in the negative. ## Negative prompt recipe Start from the model card's recommendation and adjust: ```text nsfw, worst quality, old, early, low quality, lowres, signature, username, logo, bad hands, mutated hands, mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro ``` The `mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro` block is what keeps the e621 training from leaking into pure anime output - keep it unless the user actually wants furry/anthro art. Add situational terms: - `worst aesthetic` when you used `very awa` in the positive. - `text, watermark, multiple views, extra digits, jpeg artifacts` for cleanup. - Drop `nsfw` if the user wants sensitive/explicit (and remove `safe` from the positive). ## Tag reference ### Quality tags | Percentile | Tag | | --------------- | ---------------- | | > 95th | `masterpiece` | | > 85th, <= 95th | `best quality` | | > 60th, <= 85th | `good quality` | | > 30th, <= 60th | `normal quality` | | <= 30th | `worst quality` | ### Aesthetic tags | Tag | Meaning | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | `very awa` | Top 5% waifu-scorer aesthetic - boost when you want polish | | `worst aesthetic` | Bottom 5% - keep in the negative when using `very awa` | ### Date tags | Period tag | Year range | When to use | | ---------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `old` | 2005-2010 | Vintage 2000s anime look | | `early` | 2011-2014 | Earlier 2010s style | | `mid` | 2014-2017 | Mid-2010s style | | `recent` | 2018-2020 | Late-2010s / early-2020s style | | `newest` | 2021-2024 | Modern look - **the recommended default** | For a specific year, use `year 2023`, `year 2024`, etc. ### Safety tags | Tag | When | | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | `safe` | Default - keep in the positive prefix | | `sensitive` | Suggestive but not explicit | | `nsfw` | Explicit - drop from negative, add to positive | | `explicit` | Most explicit | ## Generation settings | Setting | Value (per the model card) | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Resolution | ~1024x1024 area. Best: 832x1216 portrait, 1024x1024 square, 1216x832 landscape. | | Steps | 28-35. | | CFG | **4-5 only**. Higher burns the image. | | Sampler | **Euler** only. Other samplers produce broken output per the README. | | Scheduler | v_prediction with `rescale_betas_zero_snr=True` (or `sgm_uniform` + `zsnr` in ComfyUI). | Sampler / scheduler are workflow-level - if generations look mushy, the workflow likely isn't configured for v-pred. Tell the user to verify the workflow file has Euler + v_prediction + zsnr before retrying. If outputs are oversaturated, the Civitai page recommends a **CFG-Rescale** node at `0.2` to tame v-pred contrast. That is a workflow-level addition - mention it when the user reports burned-looking renders. ## Prompt enhancement (`enhance`) The `generate_image` tool has an opt-in **`enhance`** option that routes your prompt through a separate model before the render to rewrite it into NoobAI's native protocol - the prefixed, caption-ordered Danbooru / e621 tag list this guide describes. - **It is opt-in.** Pass `enhance: true` on the call (or a workflow/config default turns it on). When off, your `prompt` is sent as-is. - **Use it when** the incoming prompt is thin (a few words) and you want a one-shot upgrade to a full tagged prompt. When you have already built a careful tagged prompt, leave `enhance` off - it only adds latency and risks drifting from your intent. - **Scene continuity.** Pass the `context` arg alongside `enhance` to hand the enhancer background to honour (character facts, ongoing scene, wardrobe) without depicting it literally. It is ignored when `enhance` is off. - **Negative.** The enhancer builds on whatever baseline `negative` you pass and returns a refined one - it must keep the anti-furry block (see the [negative recipe](#negative-prompt-recipe)). ## If you are enhancing a prompt rather than rendering You may be reading this not to call `generate_image` yourself, but as guidance handed to the prompt-enhancement step: you were given a rough positive prompt, a baseline negative, and the target workflow's protocol, and you must return a single JSON object `{"prompt", "negative"}` and nothing else. In that role: - **Act only on the prompt-writing rules above** - the required prefix and caption order in the [positive recipe](#positive-prompt-recipe) and the [negative recipe](#negative-prompt-recipe). The generation-settings and tool-arg tables do not apply - you do not pick a workflow or call any tool. - **Translate and enrich, do not reinvent.** Keep the incoming subject and intent; lead with `masterpiece, best quality, newest, absurdres, highres, safe,`, write artists as comma-joined `artist:name` (no `@`), use lowercase tags, and escape literal parentheses (`\(` `\)`). - **Always add detail - even to an already-tagged prompt.** NoobAI has no aggressive aesthetic baked in, so push toward roughly 8-15 caption-order items: subject count (`1girl` / `1boy` / `1other`), character / series, appearance, pose, scene, and lighting that the prompt leaves unstated, staying faithful to the stated subject. - **Mine any background context you were given** (a scene/continuity note, recent conversation) for that extra detail and fold it in as depictable tags. Treat it as source material to pick from, not a checklist to dump and not a subject that overrides the explicit prompt; ignore chatter with no visual bearing. - **Build on the baseline negative** and **always keep the anti-furry block** (`mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro`) unless the user actually wants furry / anthro art. If the positive opts into `sensitive` / `nsfw`, drop `safe` from the positive and `nsfw` from the negative together. ## Worked examples These illustrate the _shape_ of a finished prompt - adapt them to the actual request, do not reuse them verbatim. Pass the `prompt` (and `negative`) value as a single string. Standard portrait: ```text prompt: masterpiece, best quality, newest, absurdres, highres, safe, very awa, 1girl, solo, fern \(sousou no frieren\), sousou no frieren, artist:wlop, long purple hair, purple eyes, black coat, holding staff, magical sparks, forest clearing at dusk, cinematic lighting, soft glow, looking at viewer negative: nsfw, worst quality, worst aesthetic, old, early, low quality, lowres, signature, username, logo, bad hands, mutated hands, mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro, text, watermark ``` Multi-artist style mix: ```text prompt: masterpiece, best quality, newest, absurdres, highres, safe, artist:john_kafka, artist:nixeu, artist:quasarcake, 1girl, chromatic aberration, film grain, horror \(theme\), limited palette, x-shaped pupils, high contrast, cold colors, black theme, gritty, graphite \(medium\) negative: nsfw, worst quality, old, early, low quality, lowres, signature, username, logo, bad hands, mutated hands, mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro ``` The wrapped lines above are a single comma/space-joined string each - pass them as one line in the tool args. ## Anti-patterns - **Treating v-pred like eps.** CFG 7, DPM++ 2M Karras, no zsnr -> mushy, washed-out, or noise-laden output. Verify the workflow before blaming the prompt. - **CFG above 5.** Specific to v-pred: extra CFG does not improve fidelity, it burns colors. - **Wrong sampler.** Per the README, only Euler works properly. DPM++, UniPC, Heun all degrade output. - **Skipping the anti-furry block.** Without `mammal, anthro, furry, ambiguous form, feral, semi-anthro` in the negative, e621 features leak into anime prompts (snouts, fur textures, paw pads). - **`@`-prefixed artists.** Wrong here - use `artist:name` instead. - **Three-word prompts.** NoobAI has no aggressive aesthetic tuning, so terse prompts come out bland. Always include the quality prefix + caption-order tags. - **Dropping `safe` without `nsfw` in the positive.** Output drifts toward suggestive by default; either keep the `safe`/`nsfw negative` pairing, or explicitly opt in with `sensitive` / `nsfw` / `explicit` in the positive. - **Year + period both pointing different eras.** Don't write `year 2023, old` - pick one. - **Square-bracket weighting.** ComfyUI weights with parentheses - `(tag:1.3)` to strengthen, `(tag:0.8)` to weaken. A1111-style square brackets do not de-emphasize here: `[tag]` parses as `([tag]:1)` (literal brackets at weight 1). Use `(tag:0.8)` to weaken instead.