MidJourney is an AI image generation tool that runs on Discord, allowing users to create images from text-based prompts. The AI engine behind MidJourney understands the prompts and uses the diffusion model to create images from scratch. To use MidJourney, you need to create an account on Discord and MidJourney and write text prompts in the chat box to generate images as per your requirements.
The comprehension capacity of artificial intelligence is making technology go crazy. With advanced machine learning algorithms to implement neural networks, AI is steaming into new territories while exploring a wide range of capabilities.
MidJourney is one of the tools enabled by artificial neural networks (ANN) to understand human language and generate images with self-recognizance. MidJourney is one of the most popular destinations for creating generative AI images, with over 15 million active users on the platform. Let’s find out more about MidJourney’s development and its AI image generation capabilities.
The Science Behind Text-to-Image Generation
In text-to-image generation, users provide a simple text to a computer program, and the latter generates images based on the text. The text users provide is called a prompt, and an image generation tool will take this prompt as a requirement for creating images.
Tools like MidJourney use diffusion models to create images, which is an improvement on the earlier Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). In GANs, two neural networks work together, wherein one network creates the images and the other network is the discriminator, which is used to distinguish between fake and real. As a result, the users would get authentic and accurate images.
In diffusion models, which are prevalent today, image generation models and programs are pre-trained with images and their descriptions. With these, the AI models get a sense of the images and recreate the results users want from their understanding. This data consists of hundreds of millions of images, and the text in them helps an AI model learn the relationship between the text and the resultant image.
The AI programs do not stop here; they begin to develop a conceptual understanding of how all elements and colors relate to each other. The beauty of a diffusion model is that it recreates anything after taking a reference from the existing images. It creates a new image from scratch. Here, the image generation process begins with a low-resolution simple image, and then the AI programs continue to add details to the image to create a full image.
MidJourney also follows the principles of the diffusion model to craft an image from the text users provide.
Introducing Midjourney: A Revolution in the Making
AI image generation is making progress almost every day, thanks to tools like MidJourney. MidJourney began its operations in February 2022 with its first version. David Holz founded MidJourney, and the platform got its Open Beta version in July 2022.
David Holz worked on ModJourney after establishing Leap Motion, a company dealing in motion sensing technology. From there to MidJourney, David Holz has opened several new avenues in this domain while allowing users to explore different versions of the program.
The first version of MidJourney V1 was released in February 2022, and the following versions were released subsequently, with V2 coming on April 12, 2022, V3 on July 25, 2022, and V4 Alpha releasing on November 5, 2022. The 5th version of MidJourney has different sub-versions, with V5 releasing on March 15, 2023; V5.1 releasing on May 3, 2023; and V5.2 coming out on June 22, 2023.
With every new release, MidJourney is becoming more sophisticated and comprehensive in generating images. We keep on seeing different emotions, timelines, mediums of art, color palettes, environments, and much more added to the tool for better results.
MidJourney uses different creative elements to generate images, and these are:
Aspect Ratio: We can select the aspect ratio of the image to be generated through MidJourney. These are the standard aspect ratios you might be familiar with in the industry.
Chaos: Chaos represents the degree of variation in the image generation through MidJourney. The Chaos can vary between 0 and 100, where 0 generates similar grid images and 100 means the four grid images will be explicitly different from each other.
Stylize: Stylize represents the degree of training applied to the text for generating images. High stylized value means more artistic output as opposed to low stylized value, which is less artistic.
There are several other components within MidJourney that users can employ to generate images. Anyone wanting to create images from this AI tool needs to follow the due process, which involves making two accounts and then using specific commands, which we are discussing in the sections ahead.
Step-by-Step Process to Use MidJourney
MidJourney operates through a chatbot server on Discord. So, you will have to create an account on Discord and MidJourney.
- Create an Account: Open MidJourney.com and find the link to join the beta program or create an account. From here, you will be taken to the Discord channel. If you have an account on Discord, you can move on to step 2. If not, then create an account on Discord first, and then create the MidJourney account. After being redirected to MidJourney, you will be asked to join the MidJourney channel on Discord.
- Subscription Plan: Earlier, MidJourney was available at zero cost to the users, but for a limited number of images. To continue using MidJourney, users have to buy a subscription plan, which has three variations:
- Basic Plan: Allowing 200 image generations per month, this plan costs $10.
- Standard Plan: With unlimited relaxed generations and 15 hours of fast generations, this plan costs $30 per month.
- Pro Plan: With 30 hours of fast generation and unlimited relaxed generation, this plan costs $60 per month.
- Join Channel and Generate First Image: Once the account is set, you will find several channels on the MidJourney server on Discord. You can join any one of the channels, but for a beginner, it’s better to join a #newbie channel. The reason is that on a newbie channel, you can get ideas on how to write prompts for generating images.
On MidJourney, everything you do depends on the prompt. More detailed prompts mean the AI program will have more clarity about what you need. To generate an image, you must enter the prompt in the chat box and start it with “/imagine.” Take it as if you are giving instructions to MidJourney to generate an image.
This is an example of how MidJourney will present four images with one prompt, which is written above the image.
Image Editing: You have limited editing capabilities with MidJourney, which are mostly limited to upscaling and variations. Every image generated through this prompt will have four different but relatable versions. You can ask MidJourney to upscale (using the U command) one version as per your choice, and then you can download it from there.
However, if you want to get four new versions of one image from the original four, the V command will allow you to generate four new images of a similar kind.
Another set of editing functions you can use includes Pan Out, Zoon, and Vary. You can Zoom up to 2.0x and also vary the image, which is available in the latest version of MidJourney, which is 5.2.
MidJourney does require some learning, but once you get a hold of how to write prompts, you will begin to generate incredible images. MidJourney, as a tool, has an understanding of millions of images, but it will need the information to use those images as food for thought and create something better.
Where Does Mid-Journey Have the Biggest Impact?
Visuals have become a way of life, and anything without visuals seems dull. In essence, MidJourney has the most significant impact in industries where creating visuals is an everyday task. From designers to plastic surgeons, MidJourney has become useful for various professions.
Wondering how an AI image generator can help a plastic surgeon? Well, plastic surgeons are using the imagination of an AI to generate images of their patients before and after the surgery. Tattoo artists are using MidJourney to get ideas to show their clients and then recreate them on their skin.
In addition to these, architects are using AI image generators to create unique images of building designs based on user-provided parameters. Most important of all, tools like MidJourney are helping designers create better designs and get inspiration from AI to create realistic and stunning visuals.
From enhancing the looks of a modern house to helping game designers speed up the design process and use the extra time to focus on other tasks, MidJourney and other image-generation tools are reshaping several industries.
Conclusion
AI image generation is quickly gaining popularity as it allows creators, designers, architects, plastic surgeons, tattoo artists, and several other professionals to reimagine visuals. The value it brings to the table is enormous, but tools like MidJourney need to be learned for effective use.
At Intuz, we can help you build designs and applications by taking visual inspiration from MidJourney and speeding up the process. While we combine our creative intelligence with MidJourney to create stunning visuals, we also use the additional time to focus on the business logic and create a better application for our clients.
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