Get Started With Midjourney Today: A Quick Guide

Midjourney is now available on the web for everyone, and it's a big step up from using it on Discord. If you haven't tried the website yet, you should! The visual prompting tools, the organized feed for ideas, and the new editor make everything easier to use.

Even with many new image tools coming out, Midjourney remains a top choice for creating images. There's a lot to learn, but this guide covers the most important features and settings to help you start creating exactly what you imagine quickly.

Getting Started and Finding Ideas

To start using Midjourney, you can sign up with a Google or Discord account. If you used Discord before, you can now link it with a Google sign-in.

The best place to begin is the Explore page. It's packed with amazing images shared by other users. Scroll through popular images or search by keywords to find styles and ideas you like.

See an image you really like? Click the magnifying glass icon. Midjourney will show you similar images. This is a fantastic way to find lots of related ideas quickly.

You can also drag images you like directly into the prompt bar. Use them as a base for the style or even a character in your own creation. You can add more than one image!

Keeping track of images you like is easy. Click the like button on anything that inspires you. Later, you can sort by liked images to quickly find your favorite styles and references. Over time, this builds a powerful collection of inspiration tailored just for you.

Your Generations and Staying Organized

Creating an image is simple: type what you want in the prompt box and hit Enter. Your new images will show up in the Create tab.

The Organize tab helps you manage all your creations. You can click and drag to pick several images at once. Then, you can put them into folders to keep everything neat.

Smart folders are even better. Create a smart folder using a keyword, and it will automatically find every image you've ever made that used that word in the prompt.

There are also many ways to sort and view your images to find exactly what you need.

Using References to Direct Your Image

One of Midjourney's strongest points is how you can use images to influence your results. It often feels more natural than trying to describe everything with words.

To use any image as a reference, just drag it into the prompt bar on the website. Then, choose what type of reference you want it to be.

Image Prompt (Picture Icon)

This is the default reference type. Drag an image, select the picture icon, and add your text prompt. The image helps guide the overall look and composition.

You can control how much the image influences the result using the `--iw` parameter. Add `--iw` followed by a number from 0 to 3 at the end of your text prompt. A lower number means less influence from the image, a higher number means more.

Style Reference (Paint Brush Icon)

Drag an image and select the paint brush icon. This uses the *style* of the image, not the structure or composition. It's great for getting specific colors, textures, or artistic vibes.

Control the style's strength with the `--sw` parameter, using a number from 0 to 1000. Higher numbers apply the style more strongly.

You can even use multiple images as style references to blend different looks together. This is like mixing different colors on a palette. Combine these with image references for very specific results.

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Character Reference (Person Icon)

This feature helps you create consistent characters across different images. Drag your character image, select the person icon, and add your prompts.

This works best with characters Midjourney itself created, but you can try it with other images too. Use permutation prompts ({option 1, option 2}) to see the character in many different scenes at once.

Adjust how closely Midjourney tries to match the character (face, clothes, accessories) with the character weight (`--cw`) parameter. The default is 100. Lowering it to 0 will only try to match the face.

This is incredibly useful for keeping the same person consistent across varied styles, camera angles, and situations.

Key Settings and Parameters

The main settings are in a drop-down menu. You can also type parameters manually at the end of your prompt, starting with `--`. Manual parameters override the settings in the menu for that specific prompt.

Aspect Ratio (`--ar`)

Change the shape of your image. Click buttons or drag the slider. You can also type in custom ratios, like 1:4 for a tall bookmark or 4:1 for a wide panorama.

Aesthetics: Stylize, Weirdness, Variety

• Stylize (`--s`): Controls how much Midjourney's default artistic style is applied. Lower values stick closer to your words. Higher values make it more artistic, sometimes even if it doesn't perfectly match your prompt. Use values between 0 and 1000.

• Weirdness (`--w`): Makes your images more unusual or unconventional. Use values from 0 to 3000. Higher values lead to more surprising and sometimes strange results.

• Variety/Chaos (`--chaos`): This controls how different the four images in your initial grid are from each other. Lower values give similar results. Higher values (up to 100) create a wider range of compositions and ideas.

Model Versions

You can choose which version of Midjourney you want to use. Version 6.1 is the latest and generally best for detail, realism, and understanding prompts. Version 5.2 is also good, especially for certain artistic styles.

There's also Niji, which is trained on anime and illustration styles. You can experiment with older versions as well.

Speed Modes

How fast your images generate depends on the mode and your plan.

• Fast: The standard speed (around 30-60 seconds per grid).

• Turbo: Generates about 4x faster but uses up your time credits faster (around 2x the time).

• Relax: Images take longer (from a minute to much longer depending on how busy the system is). Standard plans and up get unlimited generations in Relax mode. Basic plans get limited generations overall.

You can check your GPU time usage. If you run out, you can buy more or earn free time by rating images in the Tasks section (`/tasks`).

• Make managing your Midjourney account and generating images smoother with the powerful Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT.

Working with Your Images: Actions and the Editor

Once you have an image grid, you can open individual images to do more.

Variations

The "Vary (Subtle)" and "Vary (Strong)" buttons create new images based on the one you selected. Subtle makes small changes while keeping the original look. Strong makes bigger changes to the composition and details.

Upscales

The "Upscale (Subtle)" and "Upscale (Creative)" buttons increase the image size. Subtle keeps details very close to the original. Creative adds new details, which is sometimes helpful if parts like faces are a bit off in the initial smaller image.

Rerun

This just runs your original prompt again with the same settings.

The Editor

The editor is a powerful new tool that lets you change your image. You can combine several actions here.

• Expand: Drag the edges or use the scale slider and aspect ratio buttons to make the canvas bigger.

• Pan & Zoom: Move your image around on the expanded canvas.

• Inpainting (Brush): Use the brush tool to erase areas you want to change. Midjourney will regenerate only the brushed area.

After expanding or brushing, you can also add or change words in your prompt at the bottom. This tells Midjourney how to fill the blank or erased areas. Hit Submit, and it will create new options.

Remix

The "Remix" option works like the Subtle/Strong variations but lets you change the text prompt too. This is great for keeping the same general layout but changing what is in the image, like changing a character or scene element.

Style Reference Seeds (`--sref`)

Another way to get consistent styles is by using style reference seeds. These are unique number codes that represent different Midjourney styles. Use the parameter `--sref` followed by a number (from 0 to 4 billion) or `--sref random` to get a random one.

Once you find an `--sref` you like, you can copy the number and use it with any new prompt. This will apply that specific style across all your future generations using that seed. You can even use the `--sw` parameter with `--sref` to control how strong the style is.

Finding good `--sref` codes often involves searching or "mining" by running prompts with `--sref random` and `--repeat` (e.g., `--repeat 10` runs the prompt 10 times). There are also public lists of these codes online you can explore.

You can use multiple `--sref` codes together. Add them after the `--sref` parameter, separated by a space. You can also add `::` followed by a number after each code to give them different weights, making one style stronger than another.

Other Useful Parameters

No Parameter (`--no`)

Use `--no` followed by words to tell Midjourney what you *don't* want in your image. Example: `a bowl of fruit --no bananas`.

Seed Parameter (`--seed`)

Midjourney starts each new image with a random visual noise pattern based on a seed number. If you generate an image you like, you can find its seed number (More > Copy > Seed). Using the same `--seed` number for a different prompt will start with the exact same noise pattern, which is very helpful for making comparisons or small changes to previously generated images.

Stop Parameter (`--stop`)

Use `--stop` followed by a number from 0 to 100 to stop the image generation process early. Values like 80 or 90 can give you blurrier or less detailed results, which might be a desired effect sometimes.

Tile Parameter (`--tile`)

Add `--tile` to your prompt to create images that work as repeating patterns. This is great for making seamless backgrounds or textures.

Personalizing Midjourney

Midjourney can learn your personal style! When you generate images, the system usually adds its own preferences if your prompt isn't specific. With personalization turned on, Midjourney uses *your* preferences instead, based on images you like and rank.

To enable personalization, you need to like and rank images in the Tasks section (`/tasks`). Choose which image you like best from pairs. The more you rank, the better Midjourney learns your taste.

Once you've ranked enough (the exact number isn't listed, but more is better), you can turn personalization on in the settings to apply it to every image. Or, leave it off and use `--p` at the end of a prompt to apply it just for that one creation.

If personalization works well, you should like the results it creates based on your unique taste. You can control how much personalization is applied using the `--stylize` parameter when personalization is active.

You can even combine personalization with `--sref` codes for some truly unique mixes of styles.

• Streamline your creative process and manage your Midjourney generations efficiently with the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT.

Conclusion

The Midjourney website makes exploring its features much easier. From using image references to precise parameter controls and even personalizing your style, there are many ways to guide the AI to create the images you want.

Start by trying out the Explore page for ideas and experimenting with different types of references. Then, play with the parameters like aspect ratio, stylize, and chaos. Don't forget to check out the editor for making changes after you generate.

Practice and exploration are key. Have fun creating with Midjourney!