03/03/2026 10:30 pm
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Ive been trying to get into some proper high-quality image generation lately because Im finally starting that sci-fi graphic novel Ive been talking about for years. I really need something that looks professional and not like that weird melty AI look from a year ago.
Right now I am basically torn between Midjourney and maybe trying to run Stable Diffusion locally on my PC. I have got an RTX 3060 which is okay I guess but Im worried its gonna be a massive headache to set up and learn all those extensions like ControlNet just to get the character poses right. On the other hand Midjourney looks amazing and its so easy to use but that $30 a month subscription is a bit steep since Im trying to keep my hobby budget under $50 total for everything.
Ive also heard a bit about Flux lately which people say is the new king of detail but I dont know if I have the VRAM for it or if I should just stick to a paid cloud service. I really need to make progress on these character designs by the end of the month so I cant spend weeks troubleshooting. If you guys had to pick one for someone who wants the absolute best lighting and textures without needing a PhD in prompt engineering which one would you go with?
10 Answers
11
03/03/2026 10:55 pm
I disagree about Midjourney for a comic. I had issues with it being not as good as expected for keeping characters consistent. That sub fee is a total budget killer. Unfortunately, your NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB might struggle with massive Flux models.
- Use Black Forest Labs Flux.1 Schnell for speed.
- Local gens are basically free tho.
- Try Forge to simplify things. Youll get those designs finished, just keep at it!
11
03/03/2026 11:05 pm
Re: "Honestly, if youre doing a comic, check out..."
- Try Tensor.art Cloud Image Generator. It is free daily and runs models reliably.
- Zero setup
- Free credits Saves your GPU.
3
10/06/2026 5:15 am
Finally someone says it. Ive been thinking this for a while but wasnt sure.
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27/07/2026 1:15 am
Coming back to this, if you want high-quality textures without the cloud costs, you really might want to consider running Automatic1111 Stable Diffusion WebUI locally. Since you have that 3060, just be careful with your VRAM usage. It handles SDXL models pretty well if you use --medvram flags.
- Start with SDXL base models, they give way more detail than the old melty stuff.
- Make sure to grab some LoRAs from Civitai for consistent character faces; honestly, that is the only way to keep your graphic novel look uniform.
- You might want to consider using Forge instead of vanilla A1111 because it manages memory way better on an RTX 3060 12GB. Don't let the setup scare you, just watch one decent tutorial and you are golden. It will save you a ton of cash compared to monthly subs, plus you own all your assets which is way better for long-term projects. Just take it slow and dont try to run the massive 20GB models until you get the basics down.
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02/08/2026 3:15 pm
100% agree
2
03/03/2026 11:32 pm
Honestly, if youre doing a comic, check out Leonardo. Its way easier than local SD but gives way more control than Midjourney. Your 3060 is okay, but cloud is just faster for high-res stuff. Their character reference feature is a total lifesaver for consistency.
- Uses Leonardo.ai Phoenix Model for killer textures
- Leonardo.ai Apprentice Plan fits your budget better than MJ
- Built-in Leonardo.ai Canvas Editor for fixing artifacts Tbh, its the best middle ground.
2
05/03/2026 10:50 am
Any updates on this?
2
02/04/2026 1:15 pm
Been using this for years, no complaints
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08/03/2026 8:50 pm
Bookmarked, thanks!
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04/07/2026 9:15 am
Saved for later, ty!
