kazusa/tagging methodology.md

# Tagging methodology for Kazusa (blue archive)

## README / Intro
Since I've seen a few people share this already I'll provide this disclaimer.

This is not really intended to be a guide, it's just an log/checklist of my process, for my own benefit, since I repeat this for a lot of LoRAs and I got tired of winging it every single time.  I've put only the slightest amount of effort into making it accessible to others.

I don't claim that any or all of these optimal, nor can I confidently put them forth as recommendations. They're literally just a record of the steps I follow while tagging, gradually developed after ~16 characters using some version of the below process.

Still, I can at least point to my pre-Koharu LoRAs (which used pure WD1.4 tags) and the ones that came after (where I started heavily editing tags) and see a steady progression in quality and prompting flexibility despite using mostly the same training settings for each one.

Yes, it takes forever to do all of this shit. No, I don't recommend it unless you're extremely autistic; raw WD1.4 tags are probably good enough for most people. If you intend to do this for more than a few characters, I strongly recommend learning [Hydrus](https://hydrusnetwork.github.io/hydrus/introduction.html) it makes all of this way, way less tedious compared to doing it with crappier tools.

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## Prep

- Scraped `1girl kazusa_(blue_archive) order:popularity` from sancom, curated for quality, then exported from Hydrus to feed into WD1.4 Tagger.
  - Kazusa has a shitload of good art so I had to be very picky to get down to 280 images, which is still a lot. In hindsight I think huge datasets aren't really a problem; they let you train for longer without overfitting.
  - Gelbooru is probably fine too. Danbooru sucks for ロリ unless you have Gold.
  - I also got a few newer images from pixiv, don't remember which ones.
- Exported final images from Hydrus to feed into WD1.4 Tagger
- Auto-tagged with WD1.4 Swinv2 at 0.25 confidence
- Reimported images+tags into Hydrus using the .txt sidecar feature. I strongly recommend putting WD1.4 tags in a separate tag domain so they aren't mixed in with shit scraped from boorus.

## Tagging

- Tag unique features
  - `halo` / `demon horns` / `low wings`
  - Remove when not present or out of view.  WD1.4 likes putting `halo` even on images where no halo is visible.
  - **Kazusa**: `halo` / `animal ears`
    - Pruned `extra ears` as it seems redundant and intrinsic to the character.
- Tag outfit variants with a single master tag
  - **Kazusa**:
    - Uniform: `school uniform` / `black jacket`
      - Sometimes the jacket appears without anything else, which was not tagged `school uniform`
    - Non-canon costumes
      - Add `alternate costume`
  - Nudity (WD1.4 usually does this accurately)
    - `nude` / `completely nude`
- Prune eye colors
  - Keep tags which describe unusual eye features (`multicolored eyes`, `heterochromia`, `slit pupils`) as they can otherwise be too subtle and inconsistently drawn for the AI to notice
- Prune hair colors
  - This includes `two-toned hair`, `gradiant hair`, etc.  The AI learns all of these very consistently without the tags, likely because artists tend to draw them consistently
- Partially prune hair styles
  - Leave key, defining style tags like `twintails`, `ponytail`, `short hair with long locks`, `twin braids`, etc.
  - Prune exceedingly common tags like `bangs` / `sidelocks` / `eyebrows visible through hair` / `hair between eyes`, etc.
    - Somewhat arbitrary, but I just don't think there's much value in them because they're ubiquitous and caption space is limited
  - Prune length, except for images which differ from the character's usual length
    - If you don't do this, it's more likely to get the hair length wrong when not prompted, which isn't a huge deal.
    - Add `alternate hairstyle` and/or `alternate hair length` on applicable images, which can be used to more easily change styles while prompting
  - **Kazusa**: `short hair, colored inner hair` -- while I would usually prune these, they're really her only defining hairstyle traits
- Fixup hair ornaments
  - Prune generic `hair ornament` in favor of more specificity
    - `hairclip` / `black headband` / `hair flower` / `hair ribbon`, etc.
  - Consolidate tags that have color variants (`headband` >> `black headband`)
  - **Kazusa**: `hairclip`
- Consolidate outfits
  - Only tag an item when it is actually visible. If it is only barely visible along the edge of an image, keep in mind it may be cropped during bucketing.
  - Danbooru's wiki entry for a character often provides a good list of tags for a character's entire outfit.
  - **Kazusa outfits**:
    - School Uniform
      - `black choker`
      - `hooded jacket`
      - `black jacket`
      - `green sailor collar`
      - `pink neckerchief`
      - `miniskirt`
      - `pleated skirt`
      - `white skirt`
      - `black pantyhose`
      - `sneakers`
- Fixup sleeves
  - ie. `long sleeves` / `puffy long sleeves` / `detached sleeves`
  - You only need one, but pick one and be consistent. If sleeves aren't tagged the AI tends to add them inappropriately (such as when prompting for sleeveless outfits or nudity)
- Fixup collars
  - ie. `detached collar` / `collared shirt` / `choker` / etc.
  - Same deal as sleeves, they tend to appear when unwanted if not consistently tagged according to actual visibility
- Fixup clothing state
  - ie. `open jacket` / `open shirt` / `partially undressed` / `off shoulder`
  - The tagger is generally good at this but it can help to double-check for weird outfits
- Tag expressions
  - This is tedious and the autotagger doesn't help you out much, but tagging these can really help the AI nail multiple iconic expressions for a character
  - Start by searching for images without one of these, and add them.
    - `open mouth`
    - `closed mouth`
    - `parted lips`
      - Sometimes applies with `open mouth`
  - Then proceed through each image and add one of these
  - `smile` / `light smile` / `:d` / `grin` (exposed teeth only)
  - `:o` / `:<` / `expressionless` / `serious`
  - `wavy mouth` / `embarrassed`
  - `pout` / `:t` / `tsundere`
  - `nervous` / `nervous smile`
  - `flustered` / `swirly eyes` / `@_@`
  - `surprised` / `o_o` / `wide-eyed`
  - `upset` / `annoyed` / `frustrated` / `v-shaped eyebrows`
  - `naughty face` / `seductive smile`
  - `smug` / `:3` / `smirk`
  - `yelling` / `frown`
  - `eyes closed` / `one eye closed`
    - WD1.4 almost always gets these two
- Tag camera angles/composition
  - Most of these aren't very high value, but `from x` can be helpful.
  - `cowboy shot`
  - `upper body`
  - `full body`
  - `portrait`
  - `feet out of frame`
  - `cropped torso` / `cropped legs`
  - `from side` / `from above` / `from below` / `from behind`
- Tag iconic poses, actions, or props
  - Props need to show up often in training data for this to be worth it.
  - `v` / `peace sign` / `standing on one leg` 
  - `holding dango` / `weapon case` / `fashion magazine`
  - **Kazusa**
    - `mouth hold`
    - `eating`
    - `macaron`
- Flip through each image and use Hydrus's "related tags" feature to quickly identify important tags that might be missing.
  - This feature looks at other images with similar tags to provide suggestions.  Good for spotting things you or the tagger might have missed.