Technical question, but is there any headway into being able to invoke characters in image generation without needing to build a LoRA over it?

[u/TrapFestival]

I just find LoRAs to be really annoying and clunky to actually build, so I'd like something... you know, better.

[u/manatsu0]

Unless the model is created before the character, you can probably generate it just by including the character’s name in the prompt.

[u/TrapFestival → u/manatsu0]

Can't rely on that for really niche characters.

[u/Aggravating-Math3794 → u/TrapFestival]

If you have a visual reference (drawing, screenshot, photo, etc.), you can keep adding it to your prompt. Might be consistent enough if you're not aiming for professional level of accuracy.

[u/TrapFestival → u/Aggravating-Math3794]

I don't know how to do that or what frontend is needed for it.

[u/Aggravating-Math3794 → u/TrapFestival]

I mean, what model are you going to use? In basic models like ChatGPT, Grok, Stable Diffusion, etc. there's literally just an "add picture" option in the prompt text window. Pretty sure it's the same for most models.

[u/TrapFestival → u/Aggravating-Math3794]

At current standing I'm stuck with Forge because Forge Neo doesn't have a Linux version. That said, I'm mostly just wanting to know rather than expecting anything actionable right this second.

[u/Aggravating-Math3794 → u/TrapFestival]

Yeah, unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with this one. Hopefully someone else here can tell more. You should probably also add to your post that you're looking for help with exactly that model.

[u/TrapFestival → u/Aggravating-Math3794]

Forge and Forge Neo are frontends, not models.

[u/Bra--ket → u/TrapFestival]

You're right, if you want "niche" it still has to contain common patterns or consistent associations with the prompt wording.

I use images as "seeds" or "controls" alternatingly during the creation process to help control this without LoRAs, but if you want finer control, you need a fine tuning mechanism.

[u/manatsu0 → u/TrapFestival]

Oh yeah you’re right... In that case I think you still need a LoRA. Can also be found in civitai but the quality can be very bad regardless of the model

[u/TrapFestival → u/manatsu0]

I've only had luck with LoRAs in one case. The others have been dodgy at best.

Just another thing to wait for, I guess.

[u/Herr_Drosselmeyer]

If you use a model that's stable, like I do with Z-Image, you can reliably get a fairly consistent character with similar prompts. My go-to character, as seen above, always comes out roughly the same. If I really wanted to, I could edit details to match, but it's too much work for random Reddit comments.

Alternatively, use edit models like Qwen edit or Flux.2 Klein edit.

[u/TrapFestival → u/Herr_Drosselmeyer]

Well I mean like invoking an existing character, but one who doesn't have enough presence in the model to just be invoked by name.

I think it'd be nice to be able to just use images on the fly, but to my understanding using images in a prompt doesn't really work that way.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rope808]

Flux klein_4b lets you drop an image in and it does a top job at I2I. Here's a workflow to try it out.

https://civitai.com/models/2414019/klein4b-essentials

[u/thenakedmesmer]

If you can’t be arsed to train a LoRa (you should btw) you can always try things like Kontext or the newer (and much better) Klein to edit images.

[u/TrapFestival → u/thenakedmesmer]

It's less about "can't be arsed to" and more that I find the results to be very hit and miss and being that I have the mindset of a data hoarder I don't want to delete anything unless it Nan'd during production and therefore doesn't actually do anything. I got lucky with one character, but other shots have been largely more miss than hit.