Chapter 1: Quick Intro to Midjourney Prompts

Just in case you are not as experienced in Midjourney, let's make a quick review, so you can enjoy the rest of this article as well. The more experienced AI creators may skip to the next chapter.

1.1. Let's Get Started

To get the process going, we need to start with a command "/imagine". This command let's Midjourney know what you want to do. Following this command you can enter your prompt. A prompt is a short text phrase that the bot interprets to produce an image. Begin with straightforward prompts—single words, phrases. Be specific. Instead of “a cat,” try “mischievous Siamese cat sitting”. If you are just starting and want to just play with Midjourney, then do not overcomplicate things. Simplicity often yields the best results.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting

1.2. Specify Lighting and Other Details

Do you have more specific vision? Then don't be afraid to add context. To control the mood of your image, consider specifying lighting conditions. Use clear language to describe what you want. Think about elements like subject (person, animal, location), medium (photo, painting, illustration), environment (indoors, outdoors), lighting (soft, neon, studio lights), color (vibrant, monochromatic), and composition (portrait, closeup). The more details you include, the more control you’ll have over the final result.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light

1.3. Get inspired by Midjourney

If you’re finding it challenging to create prompts, there is another tool that can make your life easier. It is a command "/describe". This feature allows users to generate text prompts based on uploaded images. So if you have an image you like, you can ask Midjourney to describe it. The description will show you how the bot analyses pictures. Simply type /describe and either choose "link" (to input link to a picture online) or "image" (to upload picture from your device).

/describe link-to-your-picture

Chapter 2: Now let's dive into the more advanced territory

We have the basics behind us, let's uncover secrets Midjourney has that can hugely improve the output.

2.1. Shape Matters - The Aspect Ratio Command

Feeling cinematic or square? Use --ar to choose your art’s aspect ratio. Work with the ratio that best suits what you need to use the picture for. Do you want a wallpaper for your phone? Then I recommend 9:16 ratio.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light --ar 4:3

2.2. Embrace The Chaos - The Chaos Parameter

Want to spice things up? The chaos parameter adds an element of surprise to your creations. Adjust the chaos parameter (0–100) for a wild variety of images. A higher value (up to 100) means more unpredictability. Unpredictability is your ally!

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light --ar 4:3 --chaos 2

2.3. Blend Worlds - The Blend Command

Combine different images into mind-blowing masterpieces with the slash blend command. The /blend command in Midjourney allows you to merge 2–5 images into a novel new artwork. It analyzes the concepts and aesthetics of each image, creating a unique blend. Keep in mind that /blend doesn’t work with text prompts.

/blend

2.4 One Word - Short and Sweet Prompts

Drop a single word like surrealism and watch the AI weave its magic. While I’d love to use favourites like "cyberpunk" or "nostalgia" in my work, "realistic" is my daily bread.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism --ar 4:3 --chaos 2

2.5. Tile Patterns - Your Playground of Creativity

Use the "tile" parameter to whip up seamlessly repeating patterns for fabrics, wallpapers, and more.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism --ar 4:3 --chaos 2 --tile

2.6. Stylize Parameters - Where Style Meets Creativity

Balance prompt fidelity with creativity. Adjust the "stylize" parameter to explore new horizons.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism --ar 4:3 --chaos 2 --tile--stylize 5

2.7. Multi-Prompt Magic - Complexity Unleashed

Mix it up with multi-prompt commands. Use double colons to create scenes that would otherwise be hard to achieve. It lets the bot know to consider the concepts separately, not as a blend. Try it out—it’s easier to understand in practice.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism:: rain --ar 4:3 --chaos 2 --tile --stylize 5

2.8. No Unwanted Elements - The No Parameter

Don’t like something? Use the no parameter to show it the door. It can be tricky to make this one work, so don't give up!

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism:: rain --ar 4:3 --chaos 2 --tile --stylize 5 --no sky

2.9. Perfect Perspectives - Change Your Viewpoint

Specify aerial or worm’s eye views to evoke emotions and give your art a fresh look.

/imagine mischievous Siamese cat sitting in a garden, close-up, painting, pastel colours, soft light, surrealism:: rain --ar 4:3 --chaos 2 --tile --stylize 5 --no sky

Conclusion

We describe Midjourney, ChatGPT, etc. as AI tools. I see them as our creative companions. Personally, I am currently delving deeper into Adobe's Firefly for creating AI art due to its specific functions. Let's leave this topic for another time. Go forth, experiment, find what suits your needs the best, and let your imagination run wild.

And while your imagination is running, remember that using AI tools has still its limitations. I know, I know, everyone keeps saying that. But that's because it can get tricky. Especially, when writing about an unfamiliar topic.

As some of you may have noticed, I wrote this post with help of AI. (There are always signs, right?) However, without my own knowledge and experience, you could have found here several very specific tips for functions and parameters that don't exist in Midjourney. Also, for some reason all the prompts were suggested to start with /create. I guess after continually fooling Lakera's Gandalf, the AI finally fought back, and tried to fool me too. Maybe they are tools after all.