MODEL FAMILY TREE

When you're browsing CivitAI, you'll see models labeled with their "Base Model" - stuff like SDXL 1.0, Pony, Illustrious, or NoobAI. Knowing what these mean saves you headaches later.

SDXL 1.0 (The Foundation)

Stability AI's original SDXL release. Jack of all trades, master of none. Handles lots of styles but doesn't nail any particular one. Some community models build directly on this.

Pony Diffusion

Started as a cartoon/MLP-style fine-tune and grew its own ecosystem.

HEADS UP: Pony-based models often spit out noise or static on Apple Silicon. If you're on a Mac, steer clear of Pony models.

Illustrious

Anime-focused fine-tune that became the backbone of tons of quality models. Trained heavily on Danbooru data, so it speaks booru tags natively.

THIS IS OUR FAMILY. Bridgetoons, Cyberrealistic, Realism, Arthemy - all Illustrious-based. They share DNA:

• Understand Danbooru tags
• Use clip_skip 2
• Play nice with diffusers on Apple Silicon

NoobAI

A merge that combines Illustrious with other tweaks. Usually works fine, might have quirks.

Compatibility Cheat Sheet

Stick to Illustrious-based models and life gets easier.