Midjourney - the guide (for people that don't want to be left behind)

Midjourney is an amazing tool for creating spectacular, high-res images, but the fact it can only be used from Discord makes it harder for some users to get the most out of it. 

Here's a list of useful tips and resources to help you get the most out of Midjourney: 

1. The basics 

Skip this section if you passed this stage. 

How to get started with Midjourney?

TL;DR: Install Discord (or access it from the web), and join the Midjourney server. From within Discord, you can activate the Midjourney Bot using simple commands. Here's get started guide.

Is there a native app for Midjourney? 

At the time of writing, there isn't. You can, however, access the web app and see your recently created images, and visit the community feed. Here's a link to the Midjourney web app.

How to use the Midjourney bot? 

The most basic command to get you started is "/imagine" (and then your prompt). For some more advanced prompts - scroll down this post. 

How do I switch to a Midjourney paid account? 

Use the "/subscribe" command to initiate the subscription process. 

Terminator playing the guitar

2. Mastering the '/imagine' prompt

The prompt structure

The /imagine prompt has the following structure: 

<Optional: existing image URL> <Text prompt: what to draw> <Optional: parameters>

Here's the official documentation and some Tips for text prompts by Midjourney.

Places to get inspired by great prompts

Here are some incredible places to get inspired and learn (or just steal) some powerful prompts: 

1. Midjourney's community feed in the web app
2. Lexica - a search tool for Stable Diffusion images
3. PromptHero - the best Midjourney prompts

PromptHero - get inspired and learn new techniques

Is there a structured way to create advanced Midjourney prompts? 

Yes. There's a nice tool for creating Midjourney prompts visually with dedicated buttons and built-in options so you don't have to remember all the parameters. 

Check out MJ Prompt Tool.

MJ Prompt Tool - helpful for getting familiar with the hidden options

Is there a Cheat Sheet for Midjourney parameters? 

Yes, there are a few of them. Try this one or that one. 

Here are my favorite parameters (all should be placed at the end of the prompt): 

• Use "--ar" to define aspect ratio & size (example: "-- ar 3:2")
• Use "::" to emphasize certain words (example: "man::1 holding a dog::3" where the dog is 3x more important)
  
• Use "--hd" for high definition
• Use "-no " to describe what you wish to remove from an existing image (i.e. "-no computer")
• User "-seed " set a seed number to your image so you can use an existing character later in other images
• More parameters in here

[Update: 03/19/2023] Midjourney 5 is out! Paid customers can use it pretty easily: 

How to use Midjourney 5? 

• Add "--v 5" to the end of your prompt. 
• Or - go to settings (/settings) and select MJ version 5 in the options. 

How do you like my bumblebees? 

ChatGPT too slow, limited, or inadequate for your needs? Try these tools instead

3. Common problems using Discord

Having trouble finding your way around Discord? Here are a few handy tips: 

How do I access my Midjourney settings? 

There are plenty of guides that mention changing the settings. 

There's no settings button, but instead, type the '/settings' command on Discord. 

How to find my Midjourney images on discord? 

One of the common problems when using discord is that it's easy to lose your images in the endless stream of messages. Here are 3 ways to solve this common problem: 

1. Use the Midjourney web app to see all of your images 
2. See all your mentions on discord - go to 'inbox' and select the 'mentions' tab (see the first image below).
3. Start a private chat with the bot so you don't get lost in the endless messages stream - click the 'direct messages' button and go to 'Midjourney Bot' (see second image below)

See all your Midjourney images on Discord

 

Start a private chat with the Midjourney Bot

4. Common questions and pro tips: 

How to use your own photos? How to blend a few photos together? How to use the same characters across multiple images and more: 👇 

How do I use my own image as a source for Midjourney? 

Want to use your own images and modify them using Midjourney? It's often called img2img: 

1. Upload a photo to discord 
2. Once it's available, open it in the browser and copy the image URL
3. Paste the image URL at the beginning of the '/imagine' prompt and add your description. 

How do I merge a few existing images into one? 

Similar to uploading 1 image as a source, but with a few URLs. 

Also, there's a new '/blend' command that lets you upload 2 images or more and combines them together. 

See this explanation video. 

Terminator Thanos (/blend)

How do I use a consistent character across multiple images? 

There's a nice trick to upload an image and give it a name using a backslash. 

Once you have a name for your character, you can ask to include it in different images by including the name + the rest of the scene described in the prompt

See this explanation video. 

How to ask Midjourney to slightly modify an existing image

Sometimes you want to maintain an image that was just created, with a slight modification. 

To enable that option - go to /settings and turn on the 'mix mode' option. 

From now on, every time you will select a certain version, Discord will open a popup and let you modify that version's prompt before submitting. This is an extremely useful option. 

How do I ask Midjourney to draw a full body? 

Try to include the following words in your prompt: "wide shot, full body, far away"

How do I create an image that mimics a certain artist's style? 

Here are 2 crazy lists of artists and what they look like in Midjourney. Use it wisely... 

• The Great Big List of Midjourney Artist Styles
• The OpenAI/MidJourney Style Extravaganza

Want to read more? 

• 5 Apps I use every day (and cannot live without)
• The host syndrome: what is it and how to avoid it in your product
• 84 cognitive biases you should use to design better products

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That's it for this one. 

Hope you found this resource useful, and if did - make sure to follow me on Twitter for some more tips or subscribe to my occasional newsletter (I'm too busy to spam).