Review of Midjourney 2024 – Pros, Cons, and Features

Review of Midjourney 2024 – Pros, Cons, and Features

Midjourney is an AI image generation tool based on Discord, utilizing text commands to create images. You can input prompts for the type of image you’re looking for, and the system will generate the image for you. Whether it’s a dragon, an alien spaceship, a dancing puppy, or anything else, the Midjourney bot will assist you.

Key Points

  • Discord-Based: Midjourney operates on Discord, so familiarity with Discord chat is necessary.
  • High-Quality Images: It generates high-quality images based on text prompts.
  • Artistic Styles: Capable of creating images in various artistic styles from sketches to paintings to surreal photos.
  • Community Interaction: Engage with the community and participate in channels.
  • Image Editing: Allows you to edit your images and create multiple variations.
  • Upscaling: You can upscale your images to enlarge them.
  • Customization: Fine-tune images by specifying aspect ratio, quality, and chaos levels.
  • NLP Features: Excellent natural language processing features ensure accurate results.
  • Version 5: The latest version, released in March 2023, is accessible to users.
  • No Free Plan: Offers various paid plans according to user needs.

How We Tested the Product

I tested both simple and complex prompts, and Midjourney consistently provided accurate results. While I don’t consider myself an artist, it felt like engaging in artistic creation. You’re only limited by your imagination. It generates four images per prompt. You can select one of the four images and edit it. I tried various styles, and the results were perfect every time. Testing Midjourney felt more like fun than work.

Pros and Cons of Midjourney

Pros 👍

  • Extremely easy to use; just type text prompts to generate images.
  • Highly accurate results with high-quality images.
  • Version 4 was great, and version 5 offers even better results.
  • Provides fine-tuning features for artists.

Cons 👎

  • No free trial.
  • Images are public to other users, so you can’t create business designs.
  • Only available on Discord.
  • Limited customer support.

What is Midjourney?

Midjourney is a text-to-image generation tool powered by artificial intelligence. It uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interpret prompts provided by users and generates relevant images based on those prompts. Currently in version 5.2, Midjourney does not have a standalone application and operates on Discord chat. It boasts a large community where you can join channels to interact with other artists. While it can create stunning images, it is not recommended for business design purposes as all images are public.

How Does Midjourney Work?

Midjourney uses two machine learning techniques: Diffusion Model and Large Language Model. With the Large Language Model, Midjourney understands the meaning of user-entered prompts. Through diffusion, the system adds noise to the training dataset and then reverses the noise to restore the original image, training the AI to generate accurate results based on prompts.

In simpler terms, if you want to create an image of a “ladybug on a blade of grass,” AI starts with noise (like TV static) and gradually diffuses it to create an image matching your prompt, producing a clear image step by step.

Using Midjourney

Midjourney runs on Discord, a text and voice chat application. Here’s how to get started:

  1. Create a Discord Account: Download the Discord app or open it in your browser.
  2. Join Midjourney: Accept the invite to join Midjourney, available on their website.
  3. Enter Midjourney: Join any channel; a newbie channel is a good start. Use the search bar at the top right to find channels.
  4. Subscribe: You cannot create images without a subscription. Enter /subscribe in the text box to subscribe to their paid plan.
  5. Select a Plan: It will take you to their pricing page. Subscribe to a plan and start creating images.
  6. Generate Images: Enter /imagine to open the image prompt. Describe your image, and AI will create it.
  7. Choose and Edit: You will receive four images per prompt. Select one to upscale or edit. Save the image when satisfied.

How to Upscale Images

When you generate an image, you’ll see buttons labeled U1, U2, U3, U4, V1, V2, V3, and V4. The U buttons upscale the selected image, and the V buttons create four new variations of the selected image. Right-click and save the image when you’re happy with the result.

Special Commands in Midjourney

Similar to /imagine, there are other special commands to interact with the Midjourney bot:

  • /ask to ask a question.
  • /fast for faster results.
  • /stealth for stealth mode (your images won’t be visible to others).
  • /subscribe to subscribe to a paid plan.

A full list of commands is available here.

Parameters

There are special parameters you can set with each command:

  • --aspect: Change the aspect ratio, e.g., --ar 3:2 for a 3:2 aspect ratio.
  • --no: Negative prompts to exclude certain elements, e.g., --no flowers.
  • --tile: Create seamless images that match each other.

All Midjourney parameters can be found here.

Cost

Midjourney offers four plans:

  • Basic Plan: $8/month
  • Standard Plan: $24/month
  • Pro Plan: $48/month
  • Mega Plan: $96/month

These are annual fees, and monthly plans are slightly more expensive. The Basic Plan costs $10/month for a monthly subscription. No free trial is available. The Basic Plan allows for around 200 generations, and all your public images are visible to everyone. Stealth options are available in the Pro and Mega Plans.

Writing Creative Midjourney Prompts

Writing a generic prompt is easy, but crafting a prompt that highlights the beauty of Midjourney’s AI takes experience. Here are some tips:

  • Detailed Descriptions: Provide detailed descriptions as AI might misinterpret vague terms.
  • Brevity: Keep prompts concise. Longer prompts risk being ignored.
  • Negative Prompts: Use negative prompts to exclude elements you don’t want, e.g., “a farm with no animals.”
  • Creative Tags: Use creative tags for unusual images, e.g., “a flying dinosaur – creative.”
  • Prompt Generator: Use a prompt generator to help create detailed prompts.

Is Midjourney Open Source?

Midjourney is not open source. It’s a self-funded project developed by a small team. Unlike Dall-E by OpenAI, which is open source, Midjourney’s software is not available for use, modification, or distribution. However, the images generated in public channels are “open source” in a sense, as they are publicly accessible.

Is Midjourney Safe?

Personal data provided to Midjourney is stored on their servers in the USA. The company ensures user data is safe and secure and does not sell any of your data. If you have used Midjourney, you can request data deletion by providing your email, Discord user ID, and Midjourney user ID. Publicly generated images on public channels are public and should not be used for business designs like logos.


1,774 Comments

  1. Beyond the topic at hand this site reads as a small ongoing project of taking writing seriously, and a look at uniquegiftplace reinforced that project quality, sites that treat publishing as an ongoing serious practice rather than as content production for traffic are sites worth supporting and this one has clearly chosen the serious approach.

  2. smartbuyplace

    Reading this on a difficult day was a small bright spot, and a stop at smartbuyplace extended that brightness, content that improves a hard day is content that has earned a particular kind of place in my reading habits and this site is occupying that uplifting role for me today which I appreciate clearly.

  3. Glad the writer kept this short rather than padding it out, the points stand on their own without needing extra context, and a look at timelessharbornow kept the same approach going, brevity is a sign of confidence in the substance and the team here clearly trusts their content to land without filler.

  4. boltport

    Really clear writing, the kind that makes you want to share the link with someone who has been asking about the topic, and a quick browse through boltport only made me more sure of that, the information here stays useful long after the first read is done which says a lot.

  5. Came in skeptical of the angle and left mostly persuaded, and a stop at trendandstyleworld pushed me a bit further in the same direction, content that can move a critical reader by argument rather than rhetoric is rare and worth pointing out because it indicates real substance underneath the surface presentation here.

  6. startbuildingtoday

    Thanks for the breakdown, it gave me a clearer picture of something I had been confused about for a while now, and a stop at startbuildingtoday closed the remaining gaps in my understanding nicely, no need to hunt around twenty other articles to put the pieces together which is a real time saver.

  7. trendmarketplace

    Thank you for not assuming the reader already knows everything, the explanations meet me where I am, and a look at trendmarketplace did the same, that consideration is what makes a site feel welcoming rather than gatekeepy which is sadly the default mood across the modern web today for most subjects covered.

  8. If quality blog writing is dying as people sometimes claim then this site is one piece of evidence that it has not died yet, and a look at happytrendworld extended that evidence, the broader cultural question about online writing has empirical answers in specific sites and this one is contributing to a more optimistic answer overall.

  9. Thank you for the genuine effort here, it shows in every paragraph and not just the headline, and after my visit to discovernewvalue I was sure this site cares about getting things right rather than chasing clicks, which is the main reason I will come back later this week to read more.

  10. purestylehub

    Worth marking this site as one to come back to deliberately rather than by accident, and a stop at purestylehub reinforced that intention, the difference between sites I find again by chance and sites I return to on purpose is meaningful and this one has clearly moved into the deliberate return category for me.

  11. modernvaluecollection

    The overall feel of the post was professional without being stuffy, and a look at modernvaluecollection kept that approachable expertise going, finding the right register for technical content is hard but this site has clearly figured out how to sound knowledgeable without slipping into that distant lecturing tone that loses readers in droves every time.

  12. Now planning to write about the topic myself eventually using this post as a reference, and a look at brightchoicecollection would also serve in that future piece, content that becomes raw material for my own writing rather than just informing my reading is content with multiplicative value and this site is generating that multiplicative effect.

  13. discovergiftitems

    Skipped a meeting reminder to finish the post, and a stop at discovergiftitems held me past another reminder, when content beats meetings the writer is doing something extraordinary because meetings have institutional support behind them and yet good writing can still occasionally win that competition for attention which I find heartening today.

  14. Reading this brought back an idea I had set aside months ago, and a stop at learnandexplore added more substance to that idea, content that revives dormant projects in my own thinking is content with serious creative value and this site is contributing to my own work in ways I had not expected when first clicking through.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *