Midjourney AI: Everything You Need to Know

What Is Midjourney AI?

Midjourney is an independent research lab founded in San Francisco in 2021 by David Holz, the co-founder of Leap Motion. The lab quickly gained attention with its flagship tool: an artificial intelligence system that creates images from text prompts. Similar to OpenAI’s DALL·E or the open-source Stable Diffusion, Midjourney has become one of the most popular generative AI tools for producing stunning visuals.

At its core, Midjourney uses a combination of large language models (LLMs) and diffusion models trained on vast datasets of images paired with text descriptions. The LLM interprets a user’s text prompt, breaking it down into key concepts, while the diffusion model gradually refines noise into coherent, high-quality images. This process allows Midjourney to generate outputs in diverse styles—photorealistic, painterly, cinematic, or surrealistic.

What sets Midjourney apart is its strong artistic bias: its default outputs are often vivid, stylized, and aesthetically polished. Holz has described this as intentional, positioning the tool less as a deepfake generator and more as a collaborative artistic assistant.

How to Access Midjourney

There are currently two main ways to use Midjourney:

Discord Bot – Users interact with the AI through commands in Midjourney’s official Discord server. Since its launch in February 2022, the server has grown to more than 20 million registered users, making it one of the largest online creative communities.
Web Platform – Launched in 2024, the Midjourney website allows users to bypass Discord and work directly through a browser-based interface.

Both versions require a paid subscription. Plans range from about $8 to $120 per month, depending on image volume and features such as private (stealth) mode.

In addition to the official options, you can also access Midjourney as part of an all-in-one AI toolkit on UltraGPT.pro. This platform brings together multiple AI models—including Midjourney—so you can create, experiment, and manage projects from a single place.

Both versions (Discord and web) still require a paid subscription, but having Midjourney available alongside other AI tools can streamline your workflow.

Getting Started: A Quick Tutorial

Step 1: Sign Up
Register at midjourney.com. Choose whether you want to work via Discord or directly through the web interface.

Step 2: Create Prompts
The core command is /imagine. After typing it, you simply describe the image you want. For example:

Midjourney then generates four previews, from which you can upscale or create variations.

Step 3: Experiment with Parameters
You can refine results with parameters such as:

--ar 16:9 → Aspect ratio
--chaos 0–100 → More randomness or creativity
--s 0–1000 → Degree of stylization
--q 1/2/4 → Level of detail vs. speed/cost
--oref <URL> --ow → Maintain consistency for characters/objects (Omni Reference)
--sref <URL> → Style references for mood/look

Midjourney V7 (2025 Update)

As of June 2025, Version 7 is the default model. Major improvements include:

More accurate interpretation of text prompts
Stronger consistency in anatomy (hands, bodies, animals)
Sharper, more detailed textures
Draft Mode → 10× faster, half the GPU cost, ideal for quick iterations
Omni Reference (–oref/–ow) → Keep people and objects consistent across scenes
Enhanced upscaling, with standard renders at 2048 × 2048 px

Earlier V6.1 (2024) already improved coherence, small details, and speed, laying the groundwork for today’s near-photorealistic outputs.

Writing Better Prompts: 10 Tips

Be concise → Keep prompts under ~40 words for best results.
Use descriptive language → Adjectives for color, texture, size, etc.
Avoid ambiguity → Be direct and specific.
Experiment → Small changes in words or parameters can shift outcomes.
Leverage prompt generators → Useful for inspiration.
Use the --creative tag → Pushes Midjourney to generate unconventional results.
Weight terms with :: → Adjust importance (e.g., space::ship).
Add negative prompts → Exclude unwanted elements (e.g., no text, no hands).
Consider private mode → Available with Pro/Mega plans for privacy.
Adjust settings → /settings lets you choose models, modes, and defaults.

Pros and Cons of Midjourney

Pros:

Fast, high-quality image generation (seconds, not hours).
Wide range of artistic styles.
Accessible for beginners yet powerful for professionals.
Constant updates (new models, features, tools).

Cons:

Paid subscription required.
Images are not fully private unless using Stealth Mode.
Ownership is shared: your creations may be remixed by others.
Limited editing flexibility compared to professional 3D or design workflows.

Creativity and the Future of Art

Midjourney raises an important question: does AI mark the end of human creativity?

While the tool can produce breathtaking results in seconds, its creativity is bound by its training data and algorithms. True originality still comes from the human input—the choice of words, references, and artistic vision behind each prompt. In many ways, using Midjourney effectively is itself a creative skill.

For now, AI should be seen as an assistant rather than a replacement. Professional designers still excel in areas where brand identity, emotional storytelling, and precise technical execution are crucial. Midjourney, however, is redefining workflows: it can provide rapid concepts, inspiration, or even finished pieces—freeing humans to focus on higher-level creative decisions.

Conclusion

Midjourney has quickly evolved from a Discord-based experiment into one of the most influential creative AI platforms in the world. With each version, it becomes faster, sharper, and more versatile. Whether you’re a hobbyist testing prompts for fun, or a designer integrating it into professional projects, Midjourney represents a new era in digital creativity.

But it’s not the end of creativity—it’s a transformation. The art is still in the human imagination. Midjourney just translates words into pixels.

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