The 7 Best Stable Diffusion Models for Cartoon Art

Stable Diffusion models specifically trained with images of Looney Tunes, Pixar, and Disney cartoons are excellent tools to recreate the western (American) style of classic cartoon animation. And you’re about to find out the best of them.

The list covers Checkpoint Trained models, Checkpoint Merge models, and LoRAs. If you don’t intend to install Stable Diffusion locally, you can also experience these models using Stable Diffusion websites.

👍For more options, make sure to also check out our complete list of the best Stable Diffusion models.

Table of Contents

cartoonish

cartoonish is a Stable Diffusion checkpoint model designed to generate images in a cartoonish or animated style. It helps recreate the classic Western (American) cartoon animation styles like Looney Tunes and Disney.

It can produce 2D illustrations with cell shading, flat colors, and clean lines reminiscent of traditional hand-drawn animation. Good prompts to use with this model include “2d animation”, “cell shading”, “flat color illustration”, and “clean lines”.

The model excels at generating cartoon portraits and characters with exaggerated and expressive features typical of animated films. It can render vibrant colors, smooth shading, and a sense of three-dimensionality to mimic the look of 3D animated movies.

However, the model may struggle with distant subjects or complex backgrounds.

For best results, use resolutions like 512×512, 512×768, or 768×512. Place content type, descriptions, style, and composition keywords in that order in your prompts for optimal results.

The model works well with LoRA extensions to further customize the cartoon style.

Download cartoonish from Civitai

Samaritan 3d Cartoon

Samaritan 3d Cartoon, created by PromptSharingSamaritan, is a Stable Diffusion model trained to generate 3D cartoon-style images in the aesthetic style of Pixar, Disney, and anime.

The model has been trained on a variety of emotions like smiling, laughing, sadness, crying, shouting, surprise, etc. And it Works better for square image aspect ratios 

It’s available in versions for both Stable Diffusion 1.5 and SDXL (Stable Diffusion XL). SDXL version has improved hand and object handling capabilities 

Download Samaritan 3d Cartoon from Civitai

Cartoon Style Classic

Cartoon Style Classic is a Stable Diffusion checkpoint that is designed to generate images in the classic American cartoon animation aesthetic, particularly reminiscent of Looney Tunes and Disney cartoons. 

The model is good at producing 2D animation, cell shading, flat color illustrations, and clean line art in the classic American cartoon aesthetic. And it is used to recreate the western (American) style of classic cartoon animation. 

The Cartoon Style Classic model works great with prompts including “2d animation, cell shading, flat color illustration, clean lines”.

Download Cartoon Style Classic from Civitai

Disney Pixar Cartoon Type A

Disney Pixar Cartoon Type A model is a Stable Diffusion checkpoint model that allows users to generate cartoon-style images with a distinct Pixar aesthetic. 

The model is a merge of the Pixar Style Model with the creator’s own LoRAs (Latent Representations) to create a “generic 3D looking western cartoon” style. 

Compared to the previous version (Disney Pixar Cartoon Type A), the males and older people look more like actual Pixar characters, and the females look less anime-like. 

The model requires using a VAE (Variational Autoencoder) to get the proper coloring, as without it the colors can appear pale and gray. 

Download Disney Pixar Cartoon Type A from Civitai

Cartoon cute sticker effect（卡通Q版贴纸效果）

Cartoon cute sticker effect（卡通Q版贴纸效果）LoRa model is a custom-trained Stable Diffusion model that can generate cartoon-style sticker images. 

It is a “cartoonish Q version of the sticker effect” that can be used as a secondary model to add a cute, sticker-like effect to generated images.

The model includes specific trigger words and a recommended workflow for using it to create sticker-like images, such as generating the initial image, upscaling, removing backgrounds, and adding outlines or embellishments.

The model also incorporates a part of a sticker set, so in addition to producing single sticker effects, it can also generate sticker collections or sets. 

Download Cartoon cute sticker effect from Civitai

cartoony style

cartoony-style is a Stable-Diffusion-1.5-based model that is well-suited for creating cute, cartoon-style artwork with a flat, simple aesthetic. 

It excels in depicting characters in school uniforms and those displaying expressions of embarrassment., but not so much with creating images with complicated details.

It is a LoRA model trained on a cartoony art style, suitable for creating simple comics and illustrations.

Short, simple prompts work best for this model, such as including “flat color, solid circle eyes” in the prompt.

The model is only 1.24 MB in size and can be downloaded from the Civitai platform.

Download cartoony style from Civitai

Cartoon Arcadia

Cartoon Arcadia SDXL & SD 1.5 is a Stable Diffusion checkpoint model that is focused on generating cartoon-style images, available in both SDXL and SD 1.5 versions. It’s good at producing images in a joyful, cartoon-like style in both 2D and 3D

The model is specifically designed to generate high-quality, creative, and flexible cartoon and cartoon-like styles of images. It will not produce any other art styles. 

The model offers different versions (CD, CX, CY) that may perform better with certain prompts or styles. The latest version CY is yet to be released. 

Recommended usage tips include using prompts with the words “cartoon” and “cartoon style” to get the best results from this model. 

Image quality is rated 9/10, with 1024×1024 resolution. Recommended settings are 30-150 steps, 5-25 CFG scale, and clip skip of 1 or 2. 

The model has high NSFW resistance (9.5/10) and can generate high-quality images without needing face restoration. For creating NSFW cartoon images or hentai images, see our list of the best NSFW AI art generators.

Download Cartoon Arcadia SDXL & SD 1.5 from Civitai

FAQs

What is a Stable Diffusion model? 

Stable Diffusion models are AI-powered tools that allow users to generate images in various styles by using carefully crafted prompts. These models are trained on large datasets of images to learn the nuances of different artistic styles.

What is Civitai.com?

Civitai is a rather popular online community and platform for sharing, discovering, and collaborating on AI art models, expecially for Stable Diffusion. There you can download a plethora of Stable Diffusion models and check art examples from other users.

What’s the difference between CKPT and SafeTensor models? 

CKPT files store the weights of a trained Stable Diffusion model, while SafeTensor files use a different file format that is more secure and efficient for deployment.

How do I install a Stable Diffusion model? 

To install a Stable Diffusion model, you need to download the .ckpt or .safetensors file and place it in the “models” > “Stable-diffusion” folder of your Stable Diffusion setup.

What are the benefits of using different Stable Diffusion models? 

Each model is trained on a unique dataset and has its own strengths, allowing users to generate images in a wide range of styles, from photorealistic to abstract and vintage.

How do I choose the best Stable Diffusion model for my needs? 

The best model depends on the type of images you want to create. Consider factors like the desired artistic style, level of realism, and the capabilities of your hardware.

Can I combine or fine-tune Stable Diffusion models? 

Yes, users can experiment with mixing and matching different models or fine-tuning them on specific datasets to create custom models tailored to their needs.