How To Use Midjourney To Generate Ai Art?

Midjourney is a program for generating images based on natural language descriptions. The program was released on July 12, 2022, and has gained a lot of popularity worldwide.

With the artificial intelligence market growing exponentially and expected to hit $1.8 trillion by 2030, it’s no surprise that powerful AI tools like Midjourney are coming up.

If you’ve been coming across Midjourney content on social media or other places on the internet and are wondering what it is all about, you’ve come to the right place.

I’ll show you how to use Midjourney, the best command prompts to generate the exact art you want, the pricing plans and so much more. So let’s get down to business.

Setting up Midjourney: A Guide on How to Generate AI Art

Generating AI with Midjourney may look complicated at first, but it becomes a breeze once you understand how it works. Here’s a detailed guide on how to set up Midjourney for art generation.

Requirements for Using Midjourney

Midjourney isn’t very heavy on the system RAM since most of the generation is online, and you don’t need to download and install any app directly on your device.

However, the speed of AI generation requires, at the minimum, a powerful machine that can handle multiple things simultaneously.

These are the things you need before you start using Midjourney.

A Discord Account

Midjourney images are generated on its Discord channel. Once you’ve signed up for Midjourney, you’ll be directed to its Discord channel to access all the resources you need.

Stable Internet Connection

This is necessary for downloading and running Discord, accessing updates, and accessing your online storage area where all the images you generate are kept.

Ample Disk Space

If you’re the type of artist that downloads all their generated images, you will need ample disk space for storage. Midjourney images aren’t small; depending on the prompts, they can be sizable.

A Good GPU

Your device also needs to have a reliable Graphics Processing Unit, which can enhance the overall performance of Midjourney. Use GPUs supporting CUDA or NVIDIA GeForce if you can afford it.

8 GB RAM

Most PCs and smartphones have massive RAM storage these days. To get the best out of Midjourney, ensure you have a minimum of 8GB RAM; the more, the better.

This is especially important if you’re using a smartphone because a lot of residue data is stored in the RAM, and if that gets overrun, the device may stop working.

Compatible OS

Midjourney can be run on Windows, macOS, and Linux through Discord. You can even run it on Android and iOS, but the performance is significantly better when you use PCs.

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Setting up and Using Midjourney

1. Open the Midjourney website.

2. Click on Sign In. This will redirect you to the Discord website. If you have a Discord account, simply sign in with your email and password. If you don’t have one, then create a new Discord account.

3. Once logged in, you must authorize the Midjourney Bot to access your Discord account by clicking the Authorize button near the bottom.

4. This will open your Midjourney dashboard, where all the images you generate are stored. This is also where you can purchase a plan and browse the top galleries of some of the best artists.

5. To start generating images, head on over to your Discord account. Tap on the Midjourney channel from the left column. This will open a new window showing countless images being generated.

6. Tap the “getting started” button to your left for instructions on generating an image. This will direct you to any Newbie sub-channel labeled to create images.

7. Join a Newbie sub-channel. This is where the AI images are generated.

8. Once you’ve entered a newbie sub-channel, simply scroll to the bottom and type in /Imagine, followed by a description of what you want to generate. For example, I typed in the following prompt “/imagine: a blue car speeding down the road being chased by cops.” Here are the results.

9. You will notice some letters and numbers under each video denoted by U1, U2, U3, U4, V1, V2, V3, and V4. The letter U is for “Upscaling an image,” while the numbers represent the order in which the images are arranged.

One is for the first image, top left, followed by 2, top right, then 3, bottom left, then finally 4, bottom right. The V is for “Variations,” and tapping on that will create 4 new variations of the selected image.

10. The default sizes of the generated images are in the 1:1 aspect ratio. To generate images in another aspect ratio, like 16:9 for example, simply add this line to the end of the prompt “–ar 16:9”. Here’s an example using the prompt we tried earlier. “/imagine: a blue car speeding down the road being chased by cops –ar 16:9.”

11. A lot of images are generated on that Discord channel, so your images may get lost in all of that even before you see the results. To locate what you just created quickly, tap on the inbox icon near the top right, then tap on Mentions to see every image you have made.

How To Generate an Image of Yourself?

You can also use your image or an image of a celebrity to generate fun artwork. Here’s the step-by-step guide.

1. Upload the image on any Newbie sub-channel by tapping the plus sign near the bottom. Please select the image you want from your device and import it.

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2. After you’ve selected the image from your device storage, hit Enter.

3. This is how the image will look once it’s uploaded onto the Newbie sub-channel.

4. Tap on the image you just uploaded and tap the “Open in Browser” option.

5. Copy the image address link from the address bar at the top. It must start with cdn.discordapp.com for it to work.

6. Return to the Newbie sub-channel on Discord, then enter the “/imagine” prompt, the image link you just copied, and instructions on how you want the image to be made. This is how it should look.

7. Here’s the final result you should expect.

What Are the Benefits of Using Midjourney To Generate Art?

There have been mixed reactions towards AI-generated works across the internet, and Midjourney hasn’t been spared from the discourse.

Many people feel that AI-generated art isn’t real and hurts real artists. But denying the benefits that these types of tools bring to the table is wishful thinking.

Here are some of the top benefits of using Midjourney to generate art.

High-Quality Results

I have used Midjourney, and it’s really impressive how the tool utilizes advanced AI models to generate art with exceptional visual quality with great attention to detail, especially after the most recent upgrades.

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Fantastic User Interface

When Midjourney launched, the user interface was a little challenging, but with a few improvements over time, it has become a very easy-to-use image generation tool that can be used by anyone, even those who’ve never touched an AI tool before.

Unlimited Art Styles

Regarding Midjourney, you’re only limited by your imagination. Your art is as good as the prompts you feed it. There’s nothing Midjourney can’t create based on the few times I’ve used it, which is bound to push the boundaries of how people make art.

Flexible Functionalities

Another great advantage of using Midjourney is the limitless customizations an artist can apply to their artwork. You can fine-tune the parameters in your prompts as many times as you want until you achieve the exact painting you want.

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Simple Art Process

The time between prompting Midjourney to create art and getting the final result is less than a minute. This allows artists to generate as many pieces of art as they want within a brief period.

Constant Upgrades

Like all other AI tools in the market, the amount of upgrades Midjourney undergoes every few days is immense. When it started, this tool had challenges drawing fingers, for instance, but now, it can execute that flawlessly. The more it’s used, the better it becomes, and that’s good news for artists.

Allows Collaboration

You can borrow ideas from other artists and even build on their creations. Nothing stops you from copying someone’s prompt because Midjourney always creates something different, no matter how similar the prompts may be. This makes collaboration more straightforward, which in turn leads to the creation of better-looking work.

It Can Be Used for Professional Tasks

Are you struggling to develop branding ideas for an urgent task? Simply feed some prompts into Midjourney, giving you several hits you can build on. In short, Midjourney can act as an efficient art assistant for people who may be hitting a brick wall in content generation.

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Shortcomings of Using Midjourney

While Midjourney has created a straightforward way for everyone to create any type of art they want, it comes with some shortcomings that are hard to ignore. Here are some of the cons of using Midjourney to generate art.

It’s Not Free

When it launched, Midjourney would give users a free trial to generate a maximum of 25 images. However, this was scrapped early this year due to users abusing it. Now you have to buy premium plans to enjoy Midjourney services.

No Originality

Midjourney uses pre-trained AI models and machine learning like all AI tools, so it’s not generating art from scratch but combining and refining several existing art ideas based on the prompts it’s fed. This is why the art never looks realistic and has flaws like extra fingers or limbs when you ask it to draw a person.

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It’s Too Technical for New Users

Generating art can be complicated for a new user. For example, it took me a while before I figured out the right prompts to use, and by that time, I had wasted valuable credit, which cost me money. It takes a lot of practice for anyone to get things right when using Midjourney.

It’s Pushing Out Artists

The biggest casualties of Midjourney are the traditional artists who use physical tools to create art. Although a good majority of art enthusiasts still value traditional art, based on how fast AI is evolving, it’s only a matter of time before AI-generated art becomes as good as other forms.

This will significantly impact how artists make their living.

Heavy System Requirements

The more Midjourney evolves, the higher the system requirements needed to generate images. This means that people who become dependent on this will be forced to get more powerful devices as time goes by, and that’s an added cost.

Lack of Human Touch

Midjourney lacks any human touch, and the art looks very unrealistic. It’s not the kind of art you can reproduce on a large scale and display outside the digital space. The quality of art produced by Midjourney isn’t that sharp, and when blown out, the defects become amplified and easy to spot.

Ethical Issues

Midjourney has blurred the rules of intellectual property rights and plagiarism. No one can claim to own a piece of art generated by Midjourney when the same prompt they used can be copied to produce a different type of art.

People who heavily rely on this tool to create art need to be mindful of these rules, which are bound to generate a lot of problems in the near future. There’s also a lot of misinformation through fake images and this is expected to become a huge problem the more the platform advances.

Constant Bugs

Although continuous upgrades mean better functionalities, being a software means Midjourney regularly deals with bugs that may interfere with art generation. The regular updates and fixes needed to keep it running are time-consuming and don’t always lead to productive results.

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What Are the Best Practices for Using Midjourney the Right Way?

Midjourney isn’t free, so getting a way to execute the prompts correctly is how you get the most out of it. Here are some of the best practices for using this AI image-generating tool.

Start Small

The temptation to dive into Midjourney and start pushing it with much information can be very high, especially when you see experienced people doing that. For a first-timer, you should start with small data inputs that allow you to understand how the platform works.

This is the fastest way to understand how the AI models are used to make new images so you can know how to refine the next set of prompts.

Learn the Features

There are a lot of features on Midjourney, and more are being added daily. Take your time to explore what each function does and how to navigate the interface best.

For example, you should know where the images you generate are stored or how to scale up an image you just created to avoid wasting the subscription since every action you make is charged.

Learn from Others

I learned more at a much quicker pace from observing what other people were generating than I did from watching tutorials on YouTube. Despite being around for less than a year, a vast community of Midjurney users has mastered how they feed the AI tool with prompts.

Add a Human Touch

You get more from Midjourney by explaining precisely what you want in detail. Refine the instructions further by describing everything in detail rather than feeding it robotic and general input. Mention the shapes, colors, and designs you want by name.

If you want the artwork to look like a Van Gogh piece, then describe what a Van Gogh piece would look like.

Join a Community

Linking up with other users is another way to understand Midjourney’s work. Some vibrant communities showcase their works every day and are not selfish with the prompts they use.

You can participate in discussions and share the challenges you may have in generating the images you want. You never know, someone with the solution may be listening.

Experiment With a Hybrid Approach

Midjourney can be used with other tools for better image generation, and you should take advantage of that. For example, if you’re having trouble with good prompts, you can switch to ChatGPT and use it to generate multiple prompts you can paste into Midjourney to create images.

Stay Up to Date

Midjourney releases new updates regularly, some of which can be huge. For example, an update released on March 16 finally solved the issue of Midjourney incorrectly drawing human fingers. Therefore, keep track of all updates to stay ahead of others and take advantage of new, improved features.

Consider Ethics

Art has been a source of living for many people worldwide for as long as humans have been around. Therefore, as you generate images on Midjourney, don’t disregard what other people have spent their time and sweat to create.

Always attribute pictures you take from other people to ensure the rightful owners get the recognition and revenue they deserve.

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Midjourney Pricing

Midjourney no longer supports a free trial, although it reinstates it occasionally to attract new users. To get the full benefits of this AI image generator, you have to subscribe to one of three premium plans.

Here’s a table showing the detailed breakdown.

PACKAGE	MONTHLY PRICE	ANNUAL PRICE	FEATURES
BASIC PLAN	$10	$8	Three hours of past generations Three concurrent fast jobs Access to member gallery
STANDARD PLAN	$30	$24	15 hours of past generations Access to gallery Unlimited relaxed generations Three concurrent fast jobs
PRO PLAN	$60	$48	30 hours of past generations Unlimited relaxed generations Access to member gallery Stealth image generations 12 concurrent fast jobs.

Ready To Test Midjourney?

Midjourney is an exciting way to create images and even pass the time. I have played around with it for a while now, and the pictures I create keep improving.

I recommend the Basic monthly plan if you want to experiment and see how things turn out before committing to long-term plans.

So have fun!