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.


7,075 Comments

  1. Closed and reopened the tab three times before finally finishing, and a stop at alpinevendor held my attention straight through, sometimes content fights for time against my own distraction and the times it wins say something positive about its quality and this post clearly won that fight today afternoon for me.

  2. Recommended without reservation for anyone interested in the topic at any level of expertise, and a look at intentionalconsumerstore only strengthens that recommendation, this site clearly knows how to serve readers across a range of backgrounds without watering down the content or talking past anyone in the audience which is genuinely impressive to see.

  3. Picked up a couple of new ideas here that I can actually try out, and after my visit to ariabrawn I have even more notes saved, this is the kind of resource that pays you back for the time you spend on it which is rare to come across in this corner of the web.

  4. Reading this in the time it took to drink half a cup of coffee, and a stop at conchbook fit naturally into the second half, content that respects the rhythms of a typical morning is content with practical fit and this site has the kind of length and pacing that works for the way I actually read.

  5. Quietly building a case in my head for why this site deserves more attention than it currently seems to receive, and a look at urbaninspiredlivingstore reinforced the case, the gap between quality and recognition is a recurring frustration in independent online content and this site is one of the cases that seems particularly egregious to me today.

  6. Worth saying this site reads better than most paid newsletters I have tried, and a stop at capeasana confirmed that comparison, the bar for free content is often lower than for paid but this site clears the paid bar consistently and that says something about the editorial approach behind the work being published here regularly.

  7. Found the rhythm of the prose particularly enjoyable on this read through, and a look at crustbeige kept that musical quality going across the related pages, sentence rhythm is something most blog writers ignore but it makes a real difference in how content lands with the careful reader who cares.

  8. Worth bookmarking and sharing with anyone interested in the topic, that is my honest take, and a stop at curateddesignandliving reinforces that, the kind of generous resource that makes the open web feel worth defending against the constant pressure to retreat into walled gardens and curated feeds today everywhere I look across all my devices.

  9. Honestly enjoyed not being sold anything for the entire duration of the post, and a look at balticbull kept that pleasant absence going across more pages, content that exists for its own sake rather than as a funnel to a paid product is increasingly rare and worth supporting where I can find it.

  10. Reading this triggered a small reorganisation of my own thinking on the topic, and a stop at clamable furthered that reorganisation, content that affects the shape of my mental model rather than just decorating it with new facts is content with structural rather than informational impact and this site provides that.

  11. Thanks for keeping the writing direct without losing the warmth that makes content feel human, and a stop at wickerlane carried both qualities forward, balancing professionalism and personality is a rare skill and the writers here have clearly figured out how to consistently land it across many posts which I notice.

  12. Liked the careful word choice throughout, every term seemed picked for a reason rather than thrown in casually, and a stop at yovrisa continued that precise style, this kind of attention to small details is what separates careful writing from the usual rushed content that dominates blog spaces today across pretty much every topic I follow.

  13. Liked the post enough to read it twice and the second read found new things, and a stop at nervora similarly rewarded the second look, content with hidden depths that only reveal themselves on careful rereading is the rare kind that earns lasting respect rather than fleeting first impressions only briefly held.

  14. Clean writing, easy to read, and never tries too hard to impress, that combination is harder to find than people think, and after my time on bowcask I am sure this site treats its readers well, no flashy tricks just useful content done right which is honestly all I want online.

  15. A piece that built up gradually rather than front loading its main points, and a look at elevatedhomeandstyle maintained the same gradual structure, content that trusts the reader to reach conclusions through accumulating reasoning is more persuasive than content that announces conclusions and then defends them and this site uses the persuasive approach.

  16. Felt the writer respected the topic without being precious about it, and a look at jewelvendor continued that respectful but unfussy treatment, finding the right register for serious topics is hard and this site has clearly figured out how to take the topic seriously while still being readable for casual visitors regularly.

  17. Really appreciate the absence of stock photos that have nothing to do with the content, and a quick visit to fiberiron maintained the same restraint, visual filler is a tell that the writing cannot stand on its own and the lack of it here suggests the team has confidence in their content quality alone.

  18. Came in skeptical and left mostly convinced, that is the highest praise I can offer, and a look at elveecho pushed me further in the same direction, content that survives a critical first read is rare and worth recognising because most blog posts crumble under any real scrutiny these days when you actually pay attention closely.

  19. Decent post that improved my afternoon a small amount, and a look at softwillowcorner added a bit more to that, sometimes the small wins online add up over time and a useful site like this one is the kind of place that contributes consistently to those small wins for me lately across many different topics I follow.

  20. The post made the topic feel approachable without making it feel trivial, that is a fine balance, and a stop at blitzbraid maintained the same balance, finding the middle ground between welcoming and serious is genuinely difficult and the writers here have clearly figured out how to consistently hit it well across many different posts.

Leave a Reply

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