Introducing WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16! A Deep Dive into Civitai Licenses

Introduction

Hello everyone, I’m Easygoing.

Today, I’m excited to introduce WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16, a highly popular anime model for SDXL.

What is WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16?

The WAI-illustrious-SDXL series, published by WAI0731, is arguably the most popular anime model currently available for image generation.

gantt
    title WAI-illustrious-SDXL series
    dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
    tickInterval 6month


	v1: 2024-10-06, 2025-12-27
	v2: 2024-10-23, 2025-12-27
	v3: 2024-10-28, 2025-12-27
	v4: 2024-11-02, 2025-12-27
	v5: 2024-11-04, 2025-12-27
	v6: 2024-11-10, 2025-12-27
	v7: 2024-11-17, 2025-12-27
	v8: 2024-12-20, 2025-12-27
	v9: 2025-01-15, 2025-12-27
	v10: 2025-02-04, 2025-12-27
	v11: 2025-02-14, 2025-12-27
	v12: 2025-03-05, 2025-12-27
	v13: 2025-04-03, 2025-12-27
	v14: 2025-05-08, 2025-12-27
	v15: 2025-09-01, 2025-12-27
	v16: crit, 2025-12-18, 2025-12-27

While the series undergoes frequent updates, the latest version, WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16, was released on December 18, 2025.

V16 has been trained on the latest characters and features significantly more accurate depictions of eyes and hands, making it a flawless, all-purpose anime model.

Comparing v16 vs. v15

Let’s compare the output of the new v16 model against the previous v15.

In the images below, the left side is the newly released WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16, and the right side is the previous v15.

Mountain Sunrise

Present

Close-up

Comparing the two, v16 produces cleaner overall output with brighter facial lighting.

When looking at the hair close-up, you can see that v16 features sharper, more refined lines and a more natural flow.

Derivative models of the Illustrious-XL series often end up with a "hard, plastic-like" texture when trying to increase quality. However, the WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16 model manages to capture a soft, supple, and elastic texture.

Improving WAI-Illustrious-SDXL-v16!

While WAI-Illustrious-SDXL-v16 is already highly polished, I attempted to push the expression even further with some adjustments.

The left side is my adjusted WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16_clear model, and the right side is the original v16.

In this "clear" version, besides subtle model tuning, I upgraded the VAE to an FP32 format specifically designed for anime, which I believe further improves detail and color depth.

SDXL Anime-Specific VAE:

Image Difference Tool:

What is the License for WAI-illustrious-SDXL?

Now, let's look at the licensing for the WAI-illustrious-SDXL model.

It is currently available on Civitai, TensorArt, and Seaart AI.

Civitai

Tensor Art

Seaart AI

While each platform uses its own specific UI for licensing, they can be summarized as follows:

• Model Merging: Allowed
• Commercial Use of Outputs: Allowed
• Use in Generation Services (SaaS): Prohibited
• Selling the Model or Derivatives: Prohibited

Beware of Civitai’s License Labels!

The most important thing to watch out for is the license notation on Civitai.

Civitai labels it as License: Illustrious License, but in reality, no such single license exists. The Illustrious-XL series actually uses different licenses for different versions:

• Illustrious-XL_v0.1: Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD
• Illustrious-XL_v1.0, 1.1: CreativeML Open RAIL++-M
• Illustrious-XL_v2.0: CreativeML Open RAIL-M

Reference: Illustrious-XL Series Licenses

The link for the "Illustrious License" on Civitai currently points to the Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD. This refers only to v0.1 and has likely not been updated properly since v1.0 and later versions were released.

License Settings are at the Creator’s Discretion

While licensing is ultimately determined by the creator, Civitai has a system where selecting a base model type automatically applies the original model's license, which the uploader cannot always manually edit.

If a creator wants to set a license different from the auto-applied one, their only choice is to write the correct license in the model description.

Therefore, since Civitai’s license labels are frequently inaccurate, always read the model description carefully. If you’re still unsure, cross-check the model on other hosting sites.

WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16_clear Workflow

Because of these licensing complexities, I won't be publicly distributing the WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16_clear model file. Instead, I’m sharing the merge recipe for it.

• waiillustrioussdxl_v160_clear_merge_20251227.json

Required Models:

• waiillustrioussdxl_v160
• SDXL_anime_clear_vae

Using this workflow, you can generate images with the WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16_clear settings. If you like the results, you can also save the model locally by connecting a Save Checkpoint node.

The official WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16 guide recommends using a short Negative Prompt, but since I found it made very little difference, I have omitted it in this workflow.

If you want to use a Negative Prompt, please reconnect the ConditioningZeroOut node accordingly.

Benefits of Omitting Negative Prompts:

High-Quality Workflow with Upscaler & Detailer

Finally, here is a workflow that goes beyond standard generation by incorporating Upscaler and Detailer processes to produce high-definition illustrations.

• SDXL_Detailer_20251227.json

Required Models:

• Base Model: waiillustrioussdxl_v160
• AI Upscaler: IllustrationJaNai_V1_ESRGAN_135k
• Segmentation Model: sam3.pt

This is essentially the same as the SAM3 workflow I introduced previously, but I’ve updated the SAM3 processing to use the comfyui_sam3 custom node to optimize VRAM usage. In my environment, this custom node is much less prone to "Out of Memory" errors.

Please note that you still need to download the SAM3 model separately; refer to my previous article for instructions on how to do that.

Summary: Give WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16 a Try!

• WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16 is the latest anime model.
• Natural evolution in color and detail.
• Wonderful, supple skin/hair texture.

Today we looked at WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16. It’s a definitive model for SDXL—if you're ever unsure which model to use for anime illustrations, you really can't go wrong with this one.

While new generation models like Z-Image are starting to emerge, the overwhelming polish of WAI-illustrious-SDXL-v16 suggests that SDXL’s reign might continue for a while longer.

Thanks for reading!