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.


1,763 Comments

  1. Beyond the immediate post itself the editorial sensibility behind the site is what struck me, and a stop at lacehelm continued displaying that sensibility, content that reveals editorial choices through accumulated reading is content with structural quality and this site has clearly developed an underlying approach worth identifying through multiple sessions of reading.

  2. groweverydaynow

    Honestly impressed by the consistency of voice across what I have read so far, and a quick visit to groweverydaynow continued that consistent feel, when a site reads like one careful person rather than a committee the experience is more rewarding for the reader who notices these subtle editorial details over time.

  3. Reading this confirmed that the topic deserves more careful attention than it usually gets, and a stop at islemeadow extended that elevated framing, content that raises the appropriate weight of a subject without being preachy about it is serving a quiet but important editorial function for the broader cultural conversation about it.

  4. Bookmark earned, calendar reminder set, share queued, all from one good post, and a look at mythmanor did the same, when a single reading session triggers multiple downstream actions you know the content has actually moved me beyond the page and this site is moving me at that higher level reliably.

  5. Now feeling that this site is the kind I want to make sure does not disappear, and a look at edendune reinforced that quiet protective feeling, the rare sites whose disappearance would actually matter to me are the sites I want to support through return visits and recommendations and this one has joined that small protected list.

  6. Appreciate the thoughtful approach, the writer clearly took time to make this readable for someone who is not already an expert, and a look at timberharborfinds kept that going nicely, easy on the eyes and easy on the brain which is always a winning combination when reading on a busy day.

  7. Now saved this in a way that I will actually find again rather than the casual bookmark approach, and a stop at flarequill earned the same careful saving, organising my reading bookmarks so that high quality sources rise to the top is something I should do more of and this site triggered that organisation today.

  8. yourtimeisnow

    Probably one of the more reliable sources I have found for this kind of careful coverage, and a look at yourtimeisnow reinforced the reliability, the small group of sources I would describe as reliable for a given topic is curated carefully and this site has earned a place in that small group through consistent performance.

  9. Felt the writer was being honest with the reader which is rare enough that I want to acknowledge it, and a look at duetparish continued that honest feel, content built on actual knowledge rather than aggregated summaries is something I value highly and rarely come across in regular searches on the open internet these days.

  10. A piece that demonstrated competence without performing it, and a look at suncrestmodern maintained the same self assured but unshowy register, the gap between competence and performance of competence is one I track and this site has clearly chosen to demonstrate rather than perform which I find much more persuasive as a reader.

  11. My professional context would benefit from having this kind of resource available, and a look at musebeat extended the professional applicability, the rare site that contributes meaningfully to professional work rather than just personal interest is content with multiplied value and this one is providing that professional utility consistently across multiple pieces.

  12. Now realising the topic deserved better treatment than it has been getting elsewhere, and a look at ethicaldesignmarket extended that broader recognition, content that exposes the gap between actual quality and average quality elsewhere is doing the quiet work of raising standards and this site is contributing to that elevation in its own corner.

  13. Looking forward to seeing what gets published next month, and a look at futuregrovegallery extended that anticipation across the broader site, finding myself looking forward to a sites future content rather than just consuming its existing content is a stronger commitment level than I usually reach with new finds and this site triggered that.

  14. Reading this slowly because the writing rewards a slower pace, and a stop at foxarbor did the same, the pace at which I read content is something I now use as a quality signal and writing that earns a slower pace earns my attention as a reader looking for substance these days.

  15. Liked the natural conversational tone throughout, never stiff and never overly casual either, and a stop at lyricmeadow kept that comfortable middle ground going, finding a tone that respects the reader without becoming distant or overly familiar is harder than it sounds and this site nails that balance consistently across many different pieces.

Leave a Reply

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