WAI-illustrious is an extremely popular anime model based on Illustrious XL. Like most anime models, WAI-illustrious works best with Danbooru tags.
Find a character's prompting tag with Anime Character Preview. Its reference portraits use WAI v16, so results with v15 or v17 can differ.
For quality, artist and character tags and a negative prompt, see the Illustrious Prompt Guide.
Here are a few suggestions from the WAI-illustrious page on Civit:
Positive Prompt: ,masterpiece,best quality,amazing quality, (please note, their example images use only "masterpiece, best quality")
Negative Prompts: bad quality,worst quality,worst detail,sketch,censor, (please note, their example images use only "bad quality, worst quality, worst detail")
Recommended Steps: 25-40 (Their example images have 30 steps)
Recommended CFG: 5-7 (Their example images are set to 7)
There are four safety rating tags: general, sensitive, nsfw, explicit.
Users are expected to consciously add "nsfw" to negative prompts to filter inappropriate content.
. . .
Tags in, anime out.
From this guide’s examples
“1girl, solo, canvas jacket, cargo shorts, violet hair, short hair, sitting in a small boat, facing viewer, looking at viewer, hugging own knees, lake, mountains, mist, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (akiyama_enma:1.2)”
- Model
- WAI-illustrious SDXL v15.0
- Size
- 896 × 1152
- Steps
- 25
- Guidance
- 7
- Seed
- Random
- Style
- None — the look is in the prompt
Opens MonAI with this prompt, model, size and steps selected. Nothing is generated until you choose.
No artist tag needed.
From this guide’s examples
“1girl, blonde hair, red dress, fur coat, riding a horse, in a winter woodland, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic”
- Model
- WAI-illustrious SDXL v15.0
- Size
- 896 × 1152
- Steps
- 25
- Guidance
- 6.5
- Seed
- Random
- Style
- None — the look is in the prompt
Opens MonAI with this prompt, model, size and steps selected. Nothing is generated until you choose.
¶ Recommended settings
| Guidance Scale | 5 to 7, as Civit suggests. MonAI starts this model at 7; the examples below use 6.5 and 7.0. |
|---|---|
| Steps | 25 to 40, as Civit suggests. MonAI's default for this model is 25; the examples below use 25 to 28. |
| Size | 896x1152 for portraits (most of the examples below), 768x960 for smaller portraits, 1024x1024 for squares. MonAI accepts 512 to 1536 pixels on each side. |
| Quality tags | Civit recommends: masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality MonAI recommends (the WAI Anime style): masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality Most examples below also add "very aesthetic". |
| Negative Prompt | Civit recommends: bad quality, worst quality, worst detail, sketch, censor MonAI recommends (the WAI Anime style): bad quality, worst quality, worst detail Four of the examples below use a longer one: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, (bad hands), worst detail |
¶ How to write a WAI-illustrious prompt
Every example below is a list of short Danbooru tags separated by commas, in roughly this order:
- Who: a count tag such as 1girl, often with solo. Other subjects work the same way: one example starts with 1kitten.
- Looks, one tag per detail: "pale pink hair, short hair, wavy hair" rather than one long phrase. See Danbooru Tags - The Language of Anime.
- Clothes, pose and place: "canvas jacket, cargo shorts, sitting in a small boat, hugging own knees, lake, mountains, mist".
- Framing: close portrait, upper body, cowboy shot, extreme close up or side view.
- Quality tags: masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic.
- An artist tag for the style (optional): most examples end with one, weighted up, such as (akiyama_enma:1.2). Write the artist's Danbooru tag, with underscores in place of spaces. When a name contains parentheses, put a backslash before each one, as in (0 \(znanimo\):1.2). See Anime Artists and Prompt Weighting.
¶ WAI-illustrious v15 and v17
MonAI has both versions. They start from the same settings (Guidance Scale 7, 25 steps) and take the same kind of Danbooru-tag prompts. The newer version has its own page: WAI-illustrious-SDXL v17.0. Both are based on Illustrious XL.
¶ Use WAI-illustrious online
MonAI runs WAI-illustrious in your browser at app.monai.art, on a phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to download or install. The Try button at the top of this page opens MonAI with the model selected, and the two featured examples open it with their prompt and settings filled in. Nothing is generated until you choose.
¶ Example prompts
Each example lists the exact prompt, negative prompt and settings used to make it.
 Prompt: 1girl, inverted bob, auburn hair, halter blouse, magenta satin blouse, sleeveless blouse, pink earrings, smiling, gradient background fuchsia to purple, close portrait, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (akiyama_enma:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, (bad hands), worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, pale pink hair, short hair, wavy hair, sleeveless blouse, mock turtleneck blouse, sitting on a grassy hill, surrounded by tall wildflowers, trees, close portrait, scenic background, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (akiyama_enma:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), watermark, signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, solo, white hair, short hair, sleeveless turtleneck sweater, fuzzy sweater, smiling, white sweater, pale gradient background, white on white, close portrait, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (yoneyama_mai:1.2) Negative Prompt: bad quality, worst quality, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, solo, pink-red hair, long hair, hand in hair, wind, hair in face, laughing, blue eyes red bikini, sarong skirt, green-blue palm print skirt, walking along a beach, straight on, cowboy shot, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality Negative Prompt: bad quality, worst quality, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, off-shoulder sweater, long pants, pale gray-pink sweater, black lace undershirt, black lace choker, blonde hair, medium hair, on a snowy hill, sitting on the ground, facing viewer, looking at viewer, upper body, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, (mochizuki_kei:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, (bad hands), worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, close up, bending forward, blush, pink plaid wool coat, blonde curly hair, violet sparkly eyes, snowfall, winter forest background, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (0 \(znanimo\):1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, (bad hands), worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, solo, (extreme close up), fedora, navy purple fedora, wool fedora, dress shirt, blazer, plaid scarf, cloudy, glancing to left side, night, snow, bokeh background, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (0 \(znanimo\):1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), watermark, signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, messy bun, t-shirt, shorts, sitting on roof, side view, city, scenic, night, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (Vanripper:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
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Prompt: 1girl, blonde hair, red dress, fur coat, riding a horse, in a winter woodland, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic Negative Prompt: bad quality, worst quality, worst detail Guidance Scale: 6.5 |
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Prompt: 1girl, solo, canvas jacket, cargo shorts, violet hair, short hair, sitting in a small boat, facing viewer, looking at viewer, hugging own knees, lake, mountains, mist, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (akiyama_enma:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, solo, pink hair, wavy hair, smile, blue eyes, green-blue Hawaiian print camp shirt tied at waist, denim shorts, straight on, cowboy shot, in a jungle, pink flowers, monstera plants, vines, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (Akkijin:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), watermark, signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, solo, smiling, halter blouse, ruffled skirt, braided hair, reaching for a butterfly, on a hill, wildflowers, scenic, at dawn, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (emily_kim:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), watermark, signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, laughing, cute sweater, fuzzy sweater, pleated skirt, flared skirt, dark hair, curly hair, ice skating, cute pose, one one foot, on an icy pond, colorful cloudy sky, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality Negative Prompt: bad quality, worst quality, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, subtle smile, pink hair, curly hair, sleeveless blouse, denim shorts, holding a lavender flower, in a Tuscan lavender field, clouds, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (wewe:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), bad anatomy, (bad hands), worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1kitten, on a wildflower hill, long whiskers, cat eyes, cute kitten behind wildflowers, cloudy sky, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (gyaheung:1.3), (wewe) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), watermark, signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
 Prompt: 1girl, messy bun, t-shirt, shorts, sitting_on_roof, tile roof, side view, city, scenic, night, masterpiece, best quality, amazing quality, very aesthetic, (akiyama_enma:1.2) Negative Prompt: (bad quality, worst quality), lowres, bad anatomy, (bad hands), signature, worst detail Guidance Scale: 7.0 |
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Source: the MonAI wiki · Updated · First published