The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology always provides surprises. One that is stealing attention at the moment is Midjourney AI.
In contrast to ChatGPT, Midjourney AI focuses on developing artificial intelligence programs to produce aesthetic visuals from text. Interested in trying it? Come on, get to know the features and how to use them in the following article.
What is Midjourney AI?
Midjourney is an artificial intelligence program that is capable of producing works of art in the form of images and paintings from text commands. This ability is also known as the AI Art Generator.
Different from other AI art generators, the artwork that Midjourney produces has been recognized for its beauty. One of the paintings produced by Midjourney AI, entitled "Théâtre D'opéra Spatial", won an award at the Colorado State Fair fine arts competition, as reported by VICE.
Now you can easily produce paintings similar to "Théâtre D'opéra Spatial". You do this by entering a text command in the Midjourney AI prompt. Then the AI program will combine images on the internet according to commands. In less than a minute, Midjourney AI will produce amazing works of art.
For example, you want to create a business center containing tall buildings. Then you just enter the text, let Midjourney create a picture or painting according to the instructions.
What are the key features of Midjourney AI?
In producing works of art, Midjourney AI has features that support it. These features make it easier for users to produce or edit aesthetic images or paintings.
The following features that Midjourney AI has are:
1. Zoom Out
The first feature allows users to increase the size of the image canvas without changing the original content. The method is simply to select one of the four resulting image options, then apply enlargement. As a result, you will see various zoom-out options that can be selected.
2. Make Square
Next, the Square feature functions to change images with a perfect square ratio. For example, when the user has a horizontal image, this feature can expand the field portrait to produce an image with perfect square precision.
3. Variation Mode
The next feature allows users to produce deep images in two versions, namely high and low. The high variation model lets you explore a wide range of possibilities, while the low variation mode creates more focused results.
4. Shorten Command
The final feature is Shorten Command which is able to understand short and concise commands. So users no longer need to provide lengthy information to produce work via Midjourney AI.
For example, instead of saying, “Woman in black dress outside restaurant, youthful, happy, and bold,” simply type “Woman in black dress, outside restaurant.”
Unfortunately, to use the Midjourney AI features above, users have to pay. Whereas previously Midjourney offered a free trial that allowed you to create up to 25 images. However, as of March 28, 2023, they stopped the free trial.
Instead, users must pay a monthly or annual subscription fee. The cheapest subscription plan (Basic) costs $10 per month for up to 3.3 hours of use per month.
If this time period is less, users can choose the standard package by paying $30 per month with no limits to use “relaxed” mode. Meanwhile, use of the "fast GPU" mode to create images faster is limited to 15 hours per month.
Apart from that, there is also a Pro package which costs $60 per month with a usage duration of 30 hours. Finally, the most expensive package is Mega for $120 per month which allows use of “fast GPU” mode for 60 hours per month. And this allows more images to be created simultaneously.
*The price list may change according to updates that Midjourney determines. For more details, you can check it directly on the official Midjourney website.
How do I use Midjourney?
After deciding whether you want to take a subscription package, you need to know how to use Midjourney properly to produce aesthetic images. Follow these steps:
1. Create an Account on Discord
The first step, you need to register on Discord which is a short messaging application like Slack. Discord is very popular among art lovers, gamers and other hobbies. No need to worry, because joining Discord is free or free.
2. Select Midjourney Subscription Package
Once you have a Discord account, you need to choose the subscription plan that Midjourney provides before using. You do this by following these steps:
- Visit the Midjourney.com/account page
- Log in using a verified Discord account
- Choose a subscription package that suits your needs
- Go to the subscription plan description for information about pricing and features available at each tier
3. Connect your Discord with Midjourney Server
Meanwhile, to start working, connect your Discord account to the Midjourney Server in the following way:
- Open Discord and find the server list in the left sidebar
- Press the “+” button at the bottom of the server list
- In the pop-up window, click the “Join Server” button
- Enter the URL http://discord.gg/midjourney and press “Join”
- For additional information, “Learn more about Discord servers”
4. Join the #General or #Newbie Channel
The next step, you will see several options to join the #general or #newbie channel. Both channels are specifically designed for beginner users of Midjourney AI.
5. Write down the instructions for drawing
In the next stage, you can create an image by entering commands in the form of short text in the prompt provided. Then send your message. The bot will interpret your text prompt and start generating images.
Before generating an image, Midjourney AI will ask you to accept the “Terms of Service”. In this case, you must agree to these terms to continue creating the image.
6. Retouch or Modify Your Image
The image creation process will take approximately one minute. Then AI Midjourney will display four image options that you can choose from. Then you can edit or modify the image using the features provided.
7. Save Image
Finally, you can save the image by clicking on it to view it in full size. Then right click and select “Save”.
While on mobile devices, you can long press on an image. Then click the download icon in the top right corner.
If you don't want to save it right away, don't worry because all the images you have created can be seen at midjourney.com/imagine.
Conclusion
That is the explanation regarding Midjourney. This artificial intelligence program is a smart solution for producing high-value works of art. This is thanks to deep learning technology, so it can understand text commands and convert them into relevant visuals.
Apart from deep learning, technology that can also understand text commands well is Natural Language Processing (NLP). Apart from that, NLP technology can also be used to personalize conversations.