Leonado

Alchemy V2: The Cutting-Edge Upgrad

Features and Capabilities

Alchemy V2 is the latest premium feature upgrade for Leonardo AI, offering enhanced image generation with SDXL models (Leonardo Diffusion XL and Leonardo Vision XL). Alchemy V2 delivers higher image fidelity and improved coherence, ensuring that your prompts translate into visuals with greater accuracy.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

How to Use Alchemy V2

Using Alchemy V2 is straightforward:

1. Ensure you’re on a paid plan to access Alchemy V
2. Locate Alchemy V2 on the left menu bar.
3. Toggle Alchemy V2 on to activate the feature. Note that Alchemy V2 is only available for Leonardo Diffusion XL, Leonardo Vision XL, AlbedoBase XL, and SDXL 0.9 models.

Alchemy V1: Versatility and Experimentation

Features and Capabilities

Alchemy V1 remains available for Stable Diffusion 1.5 and 2.1 models, offering a variety of settings to experiment with.

Using Alchemy V2 is straightforward:

High Resolution

High Resolution toggles between a 1.5x and 2x resolution increase, enhancing the output resolution and delivering richer images. The input dimensions for Alchemy are preset at a width of 768 px and a height of 512 px.

1. With High-Resolution off: The final image size is 1152x768.
2. With High-Resolution on: The final image size is 1536x1024.

Contrast Boost

Contrast Boost enhances the dynamic range of the image, with a default value of 1. Adjusting this value can significantly affect the image's visual attributes, making it more tailored to your subject matter.

Resonance

Resonance controls the level of detail in your image and how closely it adheres to the prompt. Higher Resonance values can result in intricate, highly-detailed images but may also lead to busy visuals. A balance is often found between 13-15, but this varies depending on the model and prompt.

Models and Presets

Alchemy supports all models provided by Leonardo, as well as custom models, allowing for a broad range of creative possibilities.

Presets

The default preset is "General," which is designed to be balanced and versatile. Alchemy offers 11 presets:

1. Anime
2. Cinematic
3. Creative
4. Dynamic
5. Environment
6. General
7. Illustration
8. Photography
9. Raytraced
10. 3D Render
11. Sketch B/W
12. Sketch Color
13. Vibrant

Each preset affects the final image differently, and specifying the style in the prompt rather than using a preset can maximize adherence to artistic styles.

Image Guidance and Prompt Magic

Image Guidance

Alchemy supports Controlnets such as the image2image function found in the Image Guidance tab. By changing the Strength, you can control how much the original image influences the output. A lower Initial Strength value will make the original image less dominant, while a higher value will make it more dominant.

Prompt Magic

Prompt Magic determines the influence of your prompt on the output. A higher number means more significant influence. Alchemy amplifies Prompt Magic, allowing it to process all words in the description, unlike without Alchemy, where it cannot process prompts longer than 350-400 characters.

Complex Syntax and Weights

Alchemy allows constructing intricate prompts using round and square brackets:

1. (): Increase AI attention to words.
2. []: Decrease AI attention to words.
3. Each pair of brackets adds 10% attention.

Examples:

1. (red) - 110%
2. ((red)) - 120%
3. (((red))) - 130%

Using a colon inside the brackets can adjust the influence:

1. (motion blur:0.9) Influence reduced by 10%
2. (motion blur:1.2) Influence increased by 20%

Alchemy Refiner: Enhancing Every Pixel

Features and Capabilities

Alchemy Refiner goes beyond standard upscaling tools, meticulously enhancing every single pixel with a special focus on hands and faces. It emphasizes fine details and makes your image stand out, perfect for reviving old images and giving them a fresh, contemporary feel.

How to Use Alchemy Refiner

To get started with Alchemy Refiner, follow these simple steps:

Image credit: leonardo.ai

1. Activate Alchemy Refiner in your settings.
2. Upload your image or use one generated through Alchemy V1 or V2
3. Adjust the parameters as needed to achieve the desired level of refinement.

Using Alchemy Refiner: Step-by-Step Guide

Hover Over a Generated Image

In your feed, hover over the generated image you want to refine and click the Alchemy Refiner button.

Select Refiner Strength

Choose the level of refinement from the dropdown menu: Low, Medium, or High.

Note: Higher strength settings will make more significant adjustments to the image while upscaling. If you are already satisfied with the base image, consider using Medium or Low strength.

Toggle Smooth Mode

Switch Smooth Mode to ON or OFF as needed.

Smooth Mode: This mode enhances image coherence and improves details in hands and faces, but may reduce some fine details. It works best with airbrushed styles, vector images, and to manage chaotic visuals.

Credits Usage

Using Alchemy Refiner will consume 8 credits.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Generate Images Using Alchemy

This guide will show you how to generate images using Alchemy via the Web UI and API.

Tip: There's no need to specify which version of Alchemy to use; the models will automatically apply the appropriate Alchemy version.

Generating images with Alchemy will produce a higher output resolution than the input dimensions specified in the API request. To find out your image dimensions, you can use the Web App. Here's how you can make a sample request:

Models and Alchemy Versions

This list includes examples of models and the Alchemy version they use. For a full list of platform models, use the List Platform Models endpoint.

Alchemy V2 Applied Models:

1. Leonardo Lightning XL
2. Leonardo Anime XL
3. Leonardo Kino XL
4. Leonardo Vision XL
5. Leonardo Diffusion XL
6. AlbedoBase XL
7. SDXL 1.0
8. SDXL 0.9

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Alchemy V1 Applied Models:

1. Absolute Reality v1.6
2. Anime Pastel Dream
3. Dreamshaper v7
4. Stable Diffusion 1.5
5. Stable Diffusion 2.1

Viewing Alchemy Pipelines

To see which Alchemy pipeline will be used for your model, view it on the Web. Any XL model will be using Alchemy V2. A complete list of all models on the Web can also be found on the platform.

High Resolution

Leonardo Alchemy's High Resolution feature is a cornerstone of its capabilities, offering a toggle option between a 1.5x and 2x boost in image resolution. This function is designed to increase the output resolution of your alchemy-enhanced images, providing a level of richness and detail that goes beyond standard outputs. It's important to note, however, that due to the unique diffusion process used during image generation, the High Resolution feature isn't intended to serve as an upscaler.

For Alchemy, the input dimensions are set at 768 pixels in width and 512 pixels in height. Engaging Alchemy scales up these dimensions accordingly:

• With High Resolution off, the scale factor is 1.5x, which enhances the image to a resolution of 1152x768 pixels.
• With High Resolution on, the ai images is doubled in size, delivering a final high-definition resolution of 1536x1024 pixels.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Contrast Boost

Contrast Boost is a feature that elevates the contrast and dynamic range of your image, with a standard setting fixed at 1. Modifying this value can markedly influence the visual characteristics of your image, allowing you to customize it to better suit the subject at hand.

Keep in mind that the Contrast Boost does more than just adjust dynamic range; it also impacts the overall aesthetic and the intricacies within the image. As such, varying the levels of contrast can yield diverse results even if all other factors, such as settings and seeds, stay the same. Experimentation with this tool is key to achieving distinct visual effects that cater to your creative objectives.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Contrast Boost

Contrast Boost is a feature that intensifies the contrast and dynamic range within an image, starting with a default setting of 1. Altering this value can profoundly influence the image's visual characteristics to better suit your creative intentions.

It's important to realize that Contrast Boost does more than just modify dynamic range; it also impacts the aesthetic and intricacy of the image. Thus, varying the contrast setting can result in distinct variations in your output, even if all other parameters and seeds stay the same.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Resonance

Resonance plays a pivotal role in Alchemy, dictating the detail intensity in your image and its fidelity to the given prompt. Amplifying the Resonance can produce complex, richly detailed visuals, though it can sometimes introduce a level of busyness to the image.

An optimal balance often lies in the range of 13-15 for Resonance, but this isn't a hard-and-fast threshold. The appropriate Resonance setting may vary with the specific model you're using and the nature of your prompt. Expect to engage in some experimentation to pinpoint the Resonance level that best aligns with each unique image creation task

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Models

Alchemy is designed to be universally compatible across all of Leonardo's provided models, as well as any custom models you might create. This versatility paves the way for a diverse spectrum of creative outcomes, inviting you to explore and experiment to your heart's content!

Presets

Upon activation of Alchemy, the default setting is configured to "General," offering a balanced and flexible foundation for your image editing. Alchemy provides access to 11 distinct presets, each crafted to impart a specific stylistic touch and visual impact to your creations:

• Anime
• Creative
• Dynamic
• Environment
• General
• Illustration
• Photography
• Raytraced
• 3D Render
• Sketch B/W
• Sketch Color

Be aware that each preset influences the final appearance of your image in its own way. Typically, the model does not inherently apply specific artists' or photographers' styles, particular types of art, or specialized effect prompts. For a more tailored result that closely matches other artistic styles, it's beneficial to explicitly describe the desired style within the prompt itself. For such customized style applications, choosing the "None" preset is often the most effective approach.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Image2image

In Alchemy, the image2image feature grants you the capability to modulate the influence of the original image on the final output. This is managed by adjusting the "Init Strength" setting:

• A reduced "Init Strength" value results in diminishing the prominence of the original image in the final output.
• Conversely, increasing the "Init Strength" value amplifies the impact of the original image on the outcome.

This control allows for a spectrum of creative possibilities, from subtle enhancements to maintaining the essence of the original image.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Prompt Magic

The Prompt Magic Influence setting is pivotal in regulating the impact that your descriptive input has on the output. A higher setting amplifies the effect of the prompt:

• With a greater value, Prompt Magic exerts a stronger influence on the final image.
• Alchemy enhances Prompt Magic's functionality, allowing it to handle the entire scope of a description.
• In absence of Alchemy, Prompt Magic's processing power is limited, typically unable to handle prompts that exceed 350-400 characters in length.

Complex Syntax and Weights

Alchemy's advanced prompt construction allows for nuanced emphasis using brackets:

• Use round brackets to boost AI focus on the enclosed terms.
• Use square brackets to diminish AI focus on the enclosed terms.

For each pair of brackets, the influence is adjusted by 10%:

• (red) boosts the focus on "red" by 10%, making it 110%.
• ((red)) further boosts the focus on "red" by an additional 10%, totaling 120%.
• (((red))) escalates the focus on "red" even more, to 130%.

A colon within brackets helps refine the adjustment:

• (motion blur:0.9) subtly decreases the focus on "motion blur" by 10%.
• (motion blur:1.2) significantly heightens the focus on "motion blur" by 20%.

Unique Upscales

Alchemy provides two specialized upscalers, Alchemy Crisp and Alchemy Smooth, tailored for refining your images as they are enlarged:

• Alchemy Crisp is designed to sharpen images rich in texture, such as photographs, digital artworks, and certain types of 3D renderings.
• Alchemy Smooth is optimized for images with more uniform textures, perfect for illustrations, anime, and cartoon-style visuals.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

Launching just months ago in December 2022, rapidly grown Leonardo AI community from a modest 3,000 to an impressive 1.5 million users, with a million more eagerly in line—a testament to Leonardo AI unwavering commitment to expansion and accessibility.

Leonardo AI platform has undergone significant enhancements, notably with the introduction of Texture Generation and ControlNet. Texture Generation is a game-changer for video game developers and artists, simplifying the texturing of 3D models, while ControlNet offers precise command over artistic creations, enabling adjustments in pose, depth, and edge definition.

Alchemy: The Chemistry of Creation

True to its name, Alchemy is a transformative force within the realm of AI artistry. This pioneering 2D image pipeline catapults the caliber of image creation to new heights, fostering unprecedented resolution and clarity—details hitherto unseen in digital art.

Alongside heightened detail, Alchemy boasts superior lighting and shading enhancements, unlocking new creative realms for both novices and seasoned artists. This leap in technology stems from the relentless pursuit of excellence by Leonardo AI machine learning team, striving to redefine the boundaries of possibility.

Using Alchemy is a breeze. The feature integrates seamlessly with Leonardo AI image generation tool, offering a simple toggle option for activation. To further ease the creative journey, Alchemy includes user-friendly presets, ensuring that even those new to AI art generation can craft extraordinary visuals with ease.

And that's not introducing a much-anticipated capability: prompt weighting. This adds another dimension of finesse to your artistic endeavors, all inspired by feedback from Leonardo AI vibrant community.

Image credit: leonardo.ai

An Exciting Opportunity Awaits

While Alchemy is a premium feature, excited to offer all users a 1-week trial in the near future, giving everyone a taste of its transformative power. Stay tuned to Leonardo AI social media channels for the announcement.

The applications for Alchemy span a vast horizon, from video game environment and character concepts to storyboarding for films, from conceptualizing designs for fashion and accessories to creating covers for books and music albums, and from 3D model printing to sheer artistic exploration.

With Alchemy, your creative aspirations are within reach, enhancing Leonardo Ai's mission to remain at the vanguard of generative AI technology. This feature not only marks a significant achievement for us but also represents Leonardo AI enduring promise to deliver an evolving suite of tools to Leonardo AI valued users.

Alchemy isn't just a step forward in image generation—it's a giant leap for artistic innovation and versatility, and it's all happening here at Leonardo Ai.

Image credit: leonardo.ai