The chaos parameter in midjourney represents an option that influences how varied the initial image grids are. This means the four images you make will look very different from each other.
In this article, we are going to give you lots of different examples.
This will help you understand how using the chaos parameter in midjourney changes the look of your final images.
Understanding the chaos value in midjourney
The value range for the chaos parameter is 0 -100. So, using even a low chaos value like 5 can have a major impact on the generated art.
When you use a low chaos value, it will give you more reliable and repeated results. On the other hand, a high value will lead to more unexpected and unusual images.
It is difficult to say what some of the best values to set for the chaos parameter are because it varies a lot depending on the prompt.
But in most cases, a chaos value between 10 and 40 would give you a good result without looking too weird.
How to use the chaos parameter
In midjourney, the default chaos parameter is 0. So, if you want to use this parameter, you will need to add it to your prompt.
All you have to do is include either ‘ ‐‐c’ or ‘ ‐‐chaos’ at the end of your prompt, alongside a number between 1 and 100.
For example: --c 40 or --chaos 17
Experimenting with chaos in midjourney
For this test, we are going to do one base prompt and set five different chaos parameter values for it.
I will also show you several advanced prompts. This is a good way to demonstrate what this parameter does.
Simple chaos prompts examples
A close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera.
Since the default value for the chaos parameter is zero, this is what an initial image grid looks like without the influence of this parameter. As you can see, each of the four images is consistent with one another.
Now let’s see what happens when you use a very low chaos parameter value.
close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera --chaos 10
The difference between this image grid and the previous one is not too significant. The bottom left image can be considered more varied from the previous selection, but it’s not too noticeable.
close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera --c 25
You can easily spot how the chaos parameter is affecting the results with this image grid. Even though the value set in this prompt is still relatively low, it makes a lot of difference.
That’s why it’s best to use a number between 10 and 25 when you’re using the chaos parameter to keep your results somewhat consistent (if that’s what you’re looking for).
close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera --c 50
Now you can see that the resulting images are starting to get a lot of variation.
If you look at the image in the upper left corner, you will notice that it’s very unique. Without using the chaos parameter, you would have to refine the base prompt to get a result like that.
close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera --c 75
All four of these images are awesome. Sometimes, it pays off to use a high chaos value and just let the AI model work its magic.
When you find an image you like, you can make different variations of it.
close-up shot of an owl with waterlemon, looking directly at the camera --chaos 100
The image in the upper right corner is scary. It looks like something out of a horror movie.
The crazy part is that the prompt doesn’t contain anything more scary or creepy, yet the AI model still produced this image.
It just goes to show you that you can never know what to expect when you use a high chaos value.
Advanced chaos prompt examples
You’ve seen how different chaos parameter values can affect initial image grids for the same base prompt. However, this was a really simple prompt.
Let’s explore some more advanced examples.
abstract art, the magic of the quantum world, mysterious particles that set the rules of the universe, venturing into the unknown, undiscovered truths --c 75
Abstract art is one of the best use cases for a high chaos parameter value. I have noticed that it usually gives great results.
You never know what to expect when you try to make abstract art anyway. So, the fact that you can increase the variety with chaos makes it even more wonderful.
the skeleton king, the one who has lived for eternity, the one who can never die, the lord of the undead --s 250 --niji 5 --c 10
I used a combination of the stylize and the chaos parameters. It seems like this combination can produce outstanding images from time to time. I have to say that these images look good.
But when I tried to use a higher chaos value of 25 with the same prompt, it produced results that were simply too weird and not connected to the prompt.
As you can see from this prompt, you can also use the chaos parameter with the Niji model.
photorealistic image taken with polaroid camera, 70s aesthetic, woman standing in front of an old abandoned motel, nostalgic --c 25
There is definitely a lot of variety in this image grid.
This is a great example of how using the chaos parameter can create images that are connected to the prompt but still offer a lot of variety.
ancient treasure map that contains clues to where the biggest treasure of all time is hidden, manuscript aesthetic, old and forgotten, ancient relic --c 35
This is considered a relatively low chaos value, but it produced highly varied results.
I noticed that when the chaos parameter was not used in this prompt, all four images looked similar to the one in the upper left corner.
The verdict
If you are an experienced midjourney user, you already know what type of images to expect when you write a prompt.
But when you are using the chaos parameter, you will likely not have a clue what to expect.
Although the value range for the chaos parameter is there for a reason, I recommend that you stick to a relatively low chaos value for most of your prompts.
You should set a high value only when you want to experiment with unpredictable results.
Even though the chaos parameter in Midjourney is not as popular as the other parameters, it is still a useful option when you want to create some unusual art styles.
Note: I noticed that I spelled watermelon wrong in my prompt. But I choose to go with the flow.