Hey everyone,
for anyone who cares...be careful...wall of text.
I spent the last few weeks digging pretty hard into the Daily Challenge. My goal was simply to reach the podium, and when things started to go better, I wanted to go for first place. And wow… somehow I made it.
Before anything else, this is only my personal experience.
Nothing here is based on data analysis and nothing I say is guaranteed.
I also want to make it clear that I am not attacking anyone. Please do not feel personally addressed unless I mention you directly. That is not what this is about.
Why do I say “somehow”?
Because no matter what you do, there is always a bit of lottery involved. And I really had some luck here.
A good example is this challenge that got double judged by the bot:
https://civitai.com/articles/20892/completed-completed-craft-your-world-in-malachite-splendor
I was first place in one judgement and then dropped to third in the second one. At least the top three stayed the same.
There were also cases where only one or two images got judged or where the ranking changed afterwards, if I remember correctly.
Here is my personal approach (SDXL only):
1. Checking what wins
I looked at the winning entries every day.
I checked all judged images and read what the bot wrote.
It became very clear very fast that around eighty to ninety percent of the wins follow the same formula.
Animals, wide smiles, funny accessories, big eyes, sometimes clothing or an extra element like a vehicle or an instrument.
The theme must be obvious.
It also helps a lot if the creature or object is large in the frame.
But the real difference came from the small details.
Little things the bot seems to really like.
Sometimes it is a fusion, sometimes the landscape, sometimes a tiny joke or prop.
2. Generating images
You need to put in some effort here.
I usually generated between sixty and one hundred images and picked the best ones.
I always kept backup options in case the bot did not like my personal favorites.
3. Reposting, reposting and reposting
My least favorite part.
Especially since the judging system has been unreliable for days and sometimes does not work at all.
This seems to be a problem mostly for local users, but it was annoying.
What you have to do is simple, but painful.
Post your images.
Wait to see if you get judged.
If nothing happens for about thirty minutes, delete the unjudged images but never the whole post.
Repost them.
If one image finally gets a judged tag, wait a minute, then delete all unjudged ones and repeat.
In case anyone wondered how people get fifteen to twenty judged images… here you go.
But this is not a secret; you can see it in the profiles of people who win often.
4. A small bit of comfort
It always made me happy when I won without using the classic flying cat with the monster grin.
Here are a few examples of wins that were a bit different:
https://civitai.com/images/107459772
https://civitai.com/images/108941864
https://civitai.com/images/106467854
Sometimes the bot latches on to a tiny detail.
Sometimes it sees something you did not even plan.
But if it works, it works.
So yes, creativity is still possible.
5. Optimizing
My early attempts only landed around third place or nowhere at all.
So I constantly adjusted things.
Even judged images need to be checked again to see if the bot actually liked them or not.
Those can also be fine-tuned.
6. LoRAs
I created my own LoRAs specifically for the Daily Challenge.
They helped me follow my own workflow and made things faster because the daily LoRAs do not always support the same type of image.
My LoRAs are not a magic solution and probably helped only me, but a huge thank you to everyone who uses them from time to time.
7. Luck
I'm glad I had some.
Why am I even writing all this?
It is not about bragging.
It is not about blaming anyone.
If I criticize anything, it is the system itself as it is right now. Not that it was always bad, but maybe it needs some optimization.
I want to share suggestions and maybe get some feedback.
I hope others add their ideas so we can collect them and maybe get a mod to take a look.
Nobody needs to agree with me and it is totally fine if you think some ideas are bad.
Here are my own thoughts plus things I have seen in discussions.
These are not all my ideas, but things that sounded reasonable to me.
Daily Challenge Rules
All entries must be submitted before the end of the contest
Makes sense.
All entries must be SFW and follow the TOS
Makes sense too.
Maybe PG-13 could work, because there are many false positives and more creativity would be possible.
Participants can submit up to 20 images
Fine for me, but the constant reposting is rough.
On the other hand, what if you never get judged?
Maybe the system could give one guaranteed judged tag per person?
Would love some opinions here.
Low effort entries are not allowed
Makes sense.
There needs to be some quality control.
Entries must use the provided model
Also fine, but the rules are unclear.
The toolkit is huge now, especially in Comfy where you have endless nodes.
It would help if there was a clear line of what is allowed and what is not.
Fairness
This one is tough.
People who generate locally have way more tools available.
Online users simply cannot compete with the same freedom.
The contest wants creativity and experimentation, but the playing field is not equal.
Different models
SDXL, Pony, IL, Flux, Qwen, Chroma…
Where do you draw the line?
Some models are much more expensive to generate on the site.
Example with Flux:
One standard image is around 32 Buzz.
SDXL can start at around 5.
If someone wants to generate sixty images, the difference is massive.
SDXL sixty images: about 300 Buzz
Flux sixty images: about 1920 Buzz
If the Daily Challenge ever switches more toward Flux, it will be rough for people who generate on the site.
I personally love the Flux days because they allow more creativity, but that does not mean it is the right direction.
Limit wins in a cycle
Could be interesting.
For example, maximum five or ten wins per twenty nine challenges.
This could help the overall community since more people would have a chance.
The number needs to be balanced so it still feels like a challenge and not a participation trophy.
Switching bots
I really like this idea.
Different judging styles would allow more creativity.
There are so many amazing entries that never stand a chance because they are not animals with guitars and sunglasses and a big smile.
The bots could even list their preferences so people know what to aim for.
Something positive
What I love most about the Daily Challenge is the creative push.
It motivates me almost every day.
And the community is fun.
Cool comments, wild ideas, sharing posts, discussions, jokes.
I enjoy all of it.
Two final things
1. I am stepping back a bit
Not fully, but I will stop grinding.
I want to focus on creativity and new ideas again.
I reached my personal goal and I am super happy about it. Nothing more, nothing less.
2. Thank you
The following people made this whole journey possible for me:
@Moonbear_AIArt
Thank you for your kind comments, your advice, and your awesome checkpoints.
Huge kudos.
I will throw a good chunk of my Buzz into your auction this week and next week.
@Necr0x0Der
You do not even join the challenge, but Nevolution saved me so many times.
It is such a powerful allround checkpoint.
Big respect.
You will also get a good amount of Buzz for the next auction from me.
@Icy799
What can I say.
The always energetic and most friendly Duracell bunny of the Daily Challenge.
I learned so much from you.
Huge thanks.
Your next Kofy is coming soon. Stay awesome.
@Mystifying
Thank you for your kind words and for clearing things up.
Everything you shared was really helpful.
It means a lot to me that you took the time to talk with me.
Stay the kind person who looks out for people and the community.
@fbahr
You were one of the reasons I even tried to go for it after seeing you and Thunder (your cat I think) crush it so often.
If I stepped on your toes with my Dailycat LoRA, I am sorry.
I can take it offline if you want.
@Moritanik
Thanks a lot for playing around with my CrazyWhatever LoRA so much.
I hope the bot will like goblins and creatures again soon.
Your prompts inspire others and me as well.
Your style is awesome!
@Heim777
My inspiration as I started the daily chllenge. I hope you're doing fine.
I'm sure someday out of nowhere going to win everything here again :D
There are many more, so thanks to anyone who cared about me, talked to me and were kind and nice. This community is just way too great.
I am not disappearing, even if a few might wish I did haha.
I will just be a bit more quiet again because this whole thing takes a crazy amount of time. And this is still just a hobby for me.
Please feel free to add constructive comments.
Feel free to share ideas on how the challenge could be improved.
I hope future dailies keep the yellow or green Buzz rewards.
If it switches to blue only, the motivation might drop hard.
Thanks a lot for all the comments, chats, ideas and support during the last weeks.
@dolirama126
Thanks to Support and the Mods as well, they reacted super fast whenever something felt off.
If you ever run into problems, reach out to them.
They really answer fast and their explanations helped a lot.
So long,
Alex
PS: There will be a small community riddle coming today or in the next few days. I will give away a good amount of the Buzz I won here.
Thanks again for all the positive and friendly feedback so far. I am really having a lot of fun with this.
PPS: Since fbahr asked about the picture:
I go from left to right:
Moonbear beeing Moonbear. I guess there isn't much to add ;)
The guy with the beer...well that's partly me. Would love to grow a mighty mustache, but I'm still training for this :D I'm from germany living in the deep Black Forest and love beer. So I made a simple and lazy variaton for this.
Next up is the Icy799 Duracell Bunny. Old commercial. There are newer than 1973, but whatever. Best thing to understand it: Lasts longer
-> Icy was there as long as I can remember the daily challenge and is always friendly and very active. I tried to hit the blond hair of his avatar, but failed a bit. But this was the best shot, so I kept it for the article.
Cat in the front is Heim777 (for me). Always remembered the "Boss Cat" with suite and tie and a big belly. Every time I see something like that Heim777 comes to my mind.
And the mysterious guy in the back...Well it's mystifying. Always thinking about the riddler with the question marks, when I read his name. And he made that cool image Link .So I kept it simple and made it easy for me with the question mark.