README.md

---
library_name: diffusers
license: openrail++
base_model: stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl-base-1.0
tags:
  - stable-diffusion-xl
  - lora
  - text-to-image
  - ansi-art
  - pixel-art
  - retro
  - bbs
pipeline_tag: text-to-image
widget:
  - text: "acid-ansi-style, a menacing skull wreathed in flames on a black background"
    output:
      url: images/skull.png
---

# ACID ANSI LoRA

A LoRA fine-tune of Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 that generates images in the style of classic ANSI art from the BBS era (1990s). Trained on rendered ANSI/RIP art from the ACiD Productions art packs.

![Skull example](images/skull.png)

## Usage

```python
from diffusers import StableDiffusionXLPipeline
import torch

pipe = StableDiffusionXLPipeline.from_pretrained(
    "stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl-base-1.0",
    torch_dtype=torch.float16,
).to("cuda")

pipe.load_lora_weights("cahlen/acid-ansi-lora")

prompt = "acid-ansi-style, a menacing skull wreathed in flames on a black background"
negative_prompt = "blurry, photorealistic, photo, smooth gradients, 3d render, watermark"

image = pipe(
    prompt,
    negative_prompt=negative_prompt,
    num_inference_steps=30,
    guidance_scale=7.5,
    cross_attention_kwargs={"scale": 0.7},
).images[0]

image.save("output.png")
```

## Trigger Word

**`acid-ansi-style`** — prepend this to your prompts.

## Recommended Settings

| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Inference steps | 30 |
| Guidance scale | 7.5 |
| LoRA scale | 0.6 - 0.8 (0.7 recommended) |
| Negative prompt | blurry, photorealistic, photo, smooth gradients, 3d render, watermark |

### LoRA Scale

The LoRA scale controls style strength at inference time. Lower values (0.5-0.6) preserve more of the base model's composition while higher values (0.8-1.0) push harder into the ANSI style but may cause repetition artifacts. **0.7 is the recommended default.**

## Samples

All samples generated at step 3500, LoRA scale 0.7, seed 42.

| Skull | Dragon |
|---|---|
| ![skull](images/skull.png) | ![dragon](images/dragon.png) |

| BBS Login | Cityscape |
|---|---|
| ![bbs](images/bbs.png) | ![cityscape](images/cityscape.png) |

### Baseline Comparison (No LoRA)

| Without LoRA | With LoRA (scale 0.7) |
|---|---|
| ![baseline](images/baseline_skull.png) | ![with lora](images/skull.png) |

## Training Details

| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base model | stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl-base-1.0 |
| LoRA rank | 32 |
| LoRA alpha | 32 |
| Optimizer | Prodigy (lr=1.0, constant scheduler) |
| Training steps | 3500 |
| Batch size | 1 (gradient accumulation 4) |
| Precision | bf16 |
| SNR gamma | 5 |
| Noise offset | 0.05 |
| Caption dropout | 0.15 |
| Training framework | SimpleTuner |

### Training Data

276 images derived from 50 curated ANSI/RIP art renders from ACiD Productions art packs (1993-1996):
- Nearest-neighbor upscaling to preserve blocky pixel edges
- Multi-crop extraction for tall/narrow ANSI art (overlapping 1440px sections)
- VGA 16-color palette quantization as data augmentation
- Instance prompt only (no per-image captions)