Midjourney is an amazing image-generation tool that lets anyone create stellar images without any technical skills. I love it because of its ease of use and accessibility. This makes midjourney a very good image-generation tool for both complete newbies and professional artists.
But in order for you to get started with this generative ai tool, you need to learn to use its bot.
In this article, I will walk you through how to get started with the Midjourney Bot.
I will also share some simple ways you can improve your workflow which will help you create images better and faster.
Get familiar with the bot
Using the midjourney bot is like talking to a chatbot but with specific commands only. To find it, you should:
Create a discord account
- Go to www.discord.com or download the app.
- Click sign up.
- Complete the signup process.
- Verify your account.
Join the midjourney discord server
Once you have a verified discord account, you can then:
- Go to www.midjourney.com
- Click on “Join the Beta,” and you will be redirected to Discord.
- Complete the authorization process.
Now you will have access to midjourney and you will see their logo on your list of servers.
Create art in the newbies channel
- Go to the Midjourney Discord server.
- Scroll down until you find the newbies channels.
The newbies channels are visible in the left sidebar on the official Server.
At the time of writing this article, there are 3 different newbies channels. Click on any one of them and you will be able to start generating images.
Start prompting
A prompt is a string of words that you give the ai bot to create the image you want. It should be concise, free of errors, and detailed.
To start creating images with prompts on midjourney, you should:
Talk to the bot with the /imagine command
The midjourney bot has several commands but the most important is the /imagine.
This is the command you will use to create images on the server with a short text known as a prompt.
To get started, you should;
Type “/imagine”
An auto-fill bar will show above the message bar, select the /imagine command from the pop-up, and you can then type your prompt.
Alternatively, you can just type the full command as “ /imagine prompt: ” and then click enter.
After sending the message, the Midjourney Bot will generate a pop-up asking you to accept the Terms of Service before any image can be generated. This will only happen the first time you create an image.
Note: as of the date of writing this article, midjourney no longer allows free image generations so you will have to subscribe to its paid service.
Process your images
Once you have typed your prompt, the Midjourney Bot takes about a minute to generate four images. Under the initial image grid, you will see two rows of buttons.
- U1, U2, U3, U4, are for upscaling your images. This means that you select one image and make it bigger.
- V1, V2, V3, and V4 are for creating slight variations of the selected image. When you select a variation button, the bot generates new images similar to the chosen image’s overall style and composition.
- There is also a re-roll icon button that allows you to redo the same prompt. Using this option will produce a new grid image of the original prompt.
Adjust your selected image
After upscaling an image from the grid, a new set of options will appear. These are:
- Make Variations – helps you make four new image variations of that particular image.
- Detailed Upscale Redo – give you one single variation of the image with more details.
- Beta Upscale Redo – this allows you to increase the size of the image without adding more details.
- Remaster – creates a new version of your prompt with Midjourney’s creative test algorithm.
- Web – this takes you to the link of your image on a web browser.
- Favorites – add the image to your favorite folder which is available on the midjourney website.
Save Your Image
To save the image you want on your desktop, you should:
- Click on it to expand.
- Right-click
- Select the “save image as” option.
If you are on mobile, you should:
- Double-click on the image.
- Select the three dots button at the top.
- Select save.
Control the bot’s output
Aside from using prompts, you can add certain parameters to your words to specify exactly how you want the bot to create the image. Some ways you can do this are:
Stylize
You can use the stylize option to tell the midjourney bot how much of its style you want. The default is 100 but the stylized range number is 0 to 1000.
A lower number means that you want the bot to stick closely to your prompt. And, a higher number means that you give the bot freedom to make the best of your words.
To use Stylize, add this to the end of your prompt:
–s (your number)
For instance, –s 250
Chaos
The midjourney bot generates four images each time you prompt. With the chaos option, you can decide how different you want the grid images to be.
A lower chaos number means the images should look as similar as possible. But a higher number means you want very different, and unexpected results. The range is from 0 – 100.
To add chaos to your prompt, you can use:
–c (your number)
For example:
–c 75
Aspect ratios
By default, the midjourney bot will create square images which are of ratio 1:1. But you can create any aspect ratio you want.
You could create 9:16, 2:1, 4:2, and more. The only issue is that the bot will use the aspect ratio to determine the position of the character or scene.
To choose your image aspect ratio, you should add this at the end of your prompt:
–ar (your ratio)
For instance: –ar 3:2
Note: if you do not know the aspect ratio that you want to create, you can click here to use this free tool to calculate it.
Negative prompts
If you do not want certain things to show up in your images, you can add negative parameters. It can remove objects, people, colors, and more from your images.
To use it, add this to the end of your prompt:
–no (your words)
For example: –no hat
Choose your model
Midjourney has developed a lot of models. Each one has its own programming which gives them distinct styles. So, you need to make sure you choose the right model that will perfectly interpret your prompt.
As of now, midjourney has version 1 – 5 models. It also has the Niji model which creates anime illustrations.
You can go to your settings to select your model by using the “/settings” command. Or you can use the following options in your prompt:
–niji
–v 5
— v 4
Use images as prompt
Instead of creating images from scratch, you can re-create an existing image with midjourney. All you have to do is paste the image URL link and type your prompt in front like this:
/imagine prompt: (image URL) (prompt)
For instance:
/imagine prompt:https://s.mj.run/1fu5EVdF3xU as a watercolor painting
If you do not have an image URL, you can upload the image directly to the server.
To do this on mobile, you should:
- Click the plus icon.
- Choose an image and tap enter.
- Once the image has been uploaded, tap and hold it.
- Scroll to the bottom.
- Select “copy media link”.
To do this on a desktop, you should:
- Click on the plus icon.
- Upload a file.
- Click the image to expand.
- Right-click and select “copy image address”.
Define the bot’s artistic style
Even though midjourney has its own style, you still need to specify the type of images you want. For instance, V4 has a very creative style but V5 has a default realistic style.
So, if you want to get something different, you can add the name of the type of art style to your prompt. You can include;
- Oil painting
- Low poly illustration
- Vector graphic
- Anime
- Watercolor
To make your image more unique, you can combine styles that work together. You can also add the name of artists to your prompts to copy their style.
Use the bot to create prompts
Recently, Midjourney released a new command feature called describe. It allows you to upload an image, and the bot will give you some text prompt options.
To begin, just type;
- /describe
- Upload your image.
- Then click enter.
The bot will respond with a list of text prompts. You can choose the one you like and edit it to your satisfaction.
When you are done, you can then use the /image command to create your prompt.
Conclusion
Midjourney is a powerful tool that allows you to generate unique images quickly and easily. But if you do not understand how to communicate with the bot, you will struggle to create good images.
Using the step-by-step instructions, I have outlined in this article, you can talk to the bot with ease and be well on your way to creating amazing images with the Midjourney.
So, start exploring its capabilities today and see where your imagination takes you.