Get Started with Midjourney: A Simple Guide to Creating AI Art

Want to create amazing images with artificial intelligence? Midjourney is a powerful tool for that. This guide walks you through everything you need to know, from signing up to generating art and organizing your work. By the end, you'll be ready to create images like a pro.

Joining Midjourney

To start using Midjourney, you first need to register. Go to the Midjourney website. Look for the button to sign up, usually at the bottom right. You can often sign up using your Google account. Just select your email address, and you're registered.

Understanding Midjourney Plans

Before you generate images, you need a subscription. Midjourney offers a few plan options, usually with monthly or annual payment choices. The basic plan gives you a certain number of generations per month. One generation creates four images. This is usually enough to start and experiment.

Higher plans offer more generation time or resources. Some plans also include a "relax mode," which lets you generate images without using up your fast minutes, though it might take longer. Another premium feature is "stealth mode," which hides your images and prompts from public view. Keep in mind that by default, most images created on Midjourney are public, including the prompts used.

Annual plans sometimes unlock extra features like a more advanced editor. Payment options vary, but debit and credit cards are common. Be aware of potential currency conversion fees if the pricing is in a different currency.

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Generating Your First Images

Once registered and subscribed, you can start creating. There's an input box where you type what you want to see – your "prompt." For example, you might type "a dog and a cat on the moon." Hit enter or click the send button. Midjourney will then start generating four images based on your text.

You'll see the images being processed. From user experience, using English for prompts tends to give better results over time compared to other languages, even though other languages like German do work.

Adjusting Your Midjourney Settings

Midjourney has several settings to control your image output. You can access these settings through a dedicated menu button.

Speed and Aspect Ratio

You can choose how fast images generate. A "turbo" setting is quicker but uses more minutes. The standard setting uses your regular time allowance. As mentioned, "relax mode" uses no fast minutes but takes longer.

You can also set the aspect ratio for your images. This determines if your images are square, portrait, or landscape.

Model Versions and Modes

Midjourney updates its image generation model over time. You can choose which model version you want to use.

There's also a choice between Standard and RAW mode. RAW mode often produces images that look more like photographs, removing some of the default "magic filter" style. You can also select models that lean towards specific styles, like an anime style.

Influencing Aesthetics

Several sliders let you fine-tune the look of your images:

• Stylization: Controls how much Midjourney should stick exactly to your prompt versus getting creative and adding its own flair (like extra filters or varied backgrounds). Lower stylization follows your prompt closely; higher stylization allows for more creativity.

• Chaos: Determines how different the four images in a generation will be from each other. A low chaos value means the images will be quite similar. A high chaos value will produce very different images.

• Variety (or Weirdness): Can add unexpected elements to your image. This is useful if you want surprising results.

You can combine these settings in different ways to achieve varied results.

Using Existing Images

Midjourney lets you use images you already have or have generated to influence new creations. You can drag and drop an image into the prompt area.

Midjourney can analyze the image and give you text descriptions of it. You can then copy these descriptions and use them as prompts to generate similar images.

Alternatively, after dropping an image, you get options to use it as:

• Image Prompt/Template: Tells Midjourney to recreate the image or use it as a starting point for a new image.

• Reference: Tells Midjourney to use the style of the image for new generations.

• Character: Tells Midjourney to try and keep the main subject (like a specific dog) consistent while changing the setting.

You can even combine these options by selecting multiple buttons before adding your text prompt. However, you always need a text prompt. These image inputs guide the AI on how to interpret your text.

Exploring Hidden Features and Interface Options

Beyond the main generation area, the interface has more. You can upload files directly. For any uploaded images you have more options:

• Delete the image.

• Open it in the editor (access may depend on your plan or usage).

• Use the "i" function to get description suggestions or even artist style suggestions based on the image.

When looking at individual generated images, you have several options in the sidebar:

• Like: Signals to the algorithm what kind of images you prefer and may show them on the main page.

• Magnifying Glass: Finds similar images created by other users. This is great for inspiration and seeing what prompts others used.

• Download: Saves the image to your device.

• Get Info: Provides details like the prompt used, the image itself, a shareable URL, the seed number (useful for replicating results), and the job ID.

• Report/Hide: Options for managing specific images.

• Open in Discord: If you're also using Midjourney in Discord, this opens the image there.

Below these options are buttons specific to the selected image. These let you:

• Generate variations (light or strong).

• Upscale the image (make it larger, with slightly different versions).

• Remix the image (change the prompt while using the image as a base).

• Expand the image in a specific direction (adds content to the left, right, up, or down).

• Zoom out from the image (keeps the center subject and adds new content around it).

• Rerun the job (generate the same prompt again).

• Edit the image (opens the editor, access varies).

• Use elements from the prompt/image for a new generation (use the image, style, or full prompt as a base).

Want a smoother workflow for managing all these variations and edits? The Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT can help automate tasks and keep track of your creations.

Using the Editor

The editor allows you to make more direct changes to your images. You can select areas, erase parts, and then enter a prompt for what you want to appear in that area or how you want the selected part to change. It also offers tools to adjust aspect ratio for sections or the whole image.

Successfully editing images sometimes requires multiple tries. Access to the full editor might depend on your subscription level (like an annual plan) or having completed a certain number of jobs. While the basic editor offers useful functions, a more advanced version provides finer control.

Organizing Your Image Library

Once you've created many images, organization is key. Midjourney lets you organize your work. All your generated images are available, roughly sorted by creation time.

You can also create folders. The "Smart Folder" option is useful; you can set a keyword (like "Apple"), and Midjourney will automatically add any images generated with that keyword in the prompt to the folder.

Finding Inspiration

Midjourney's platform includes ways to get inspiration from others.

• Explore: See random images, or browse top images sorted by month or other criteria. Clicking on an image shows you the creator, their other work, the prompt they used, and settings. You can easily copy parts of their prompt or find similar images.

• Chat: See images other users are currently creating in real-time. This gives you ideas and shows you prompts being used. Remember, most activity here is public.

• Daily Theme: Often, there's a daily challenge or theme you can participate in to push your creativity.

Earning Free Minutes

Midjourney offers ways to earn free generation minutes (sometimes even hours) by participating in tasks:

• Rating Images: Compare two images and select which one you like better. Doing this for a number of images can reward you with free time.

• Surveys: Answer questions about your experience or potential improvements to earn hours.

• Feedback: Provide feedback on features to earn points that translate to time.

These free hours are displayed in your profile, but be aware they might expire after a certain time period (like 60 days).

Unlocking Personalization and Mood Boards

Midjourney can personalize your image generation based on your preferences. To unlock this, you often need to rate a certain number of images (similar to the task mentioned above).

Once personalized, you can toggle this setting on when generating images. Comparisons show that personalization can lead to results with more vibrant colors and perhaps a more polished look, aligning them more with images you've liked or rated highly.

A very powerful tool is the "Mood Board." You can create a mood board and drag/upload images into it. Midjourney automatically saves it. Each mood board gets a unique code. When you use this code in a prompt along with your text, Midjourney tries to incorporate the style, elements, or feeling of the images from that mood board into your new generation.

Mood boards are excellent for maintaining a consistent style or incorporating specific visual elements across multiple images. You can update mood boards by adding new images.

Streamline creating and managing your Midjourney mood boards for consistent results. Explore the features of the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT.

Conclusion

Midjourney is a valuable tool for creating AI art. With simple prompts and the various settings available, you can achieve impressive results. While some generations might not turn out exactly as planned, the tools for refining images and exploring variations help you get closer to your vision. Features like organizing folders, getting inspiration, and using advanced options like mood boards enhance the creation process. Whether you're using it for personal projects, creative inspiration, or something else, Midjourney provides a robust platform.

Ready to take your Midjourney creations to the next level? Discover how automation can simplify your workflow and enhance your image generation. Visit TitanXT's Midjourney Automation Suite today.