What is Midjourney AI? How to Use it and How Much Does it Cost?

A few years back no one had imagined that Artificial intelligence would imagine (produce) such realistic images that will stun us. And no one knows what will come next!

But, as of today in the case of artificial image generation, Midjourney AI is at the center. Welcome to the fascinating world of Midjourney AI, where imagination comes to life in the form of stunning images! 🌟

If you’ve ever wished to conjure pictures straight from your mind, you’re in for a treat. Midjourney, an impressive image generator driven by artificial intelligence, can turn your text-based descriptions into beautiful images. Even if you’re not an artist, this technology has your back. So, how does it all work? Let’s dive in and uncover the magic behind Midjourney.

What is Midjourney AI?

Midjourney is an AI tool that can generate images from a user’s text prompt. It means it is a text-to-image AI model.

Midjourney is an incredible tool that has a significant user base because of its output image quality. Unlike some other tools, Midjourney is easy to use—it doesn’t require any kind of extra equipment. 

The Discord chat app is integrated seamlessly with it. It should be mentioned though that not all characteristics are available for free some of the contemporaries provide only minimal free image generations.

The capacity of the mid-journey can generate output from highly eerie to strikingly beautiful depending on the prompt you give. Incredibly, even the experts in photography and other domains could be deceived by Midjourney’s AI-made pictures. 

Maybe you have come across some of these persuasive fakes —such as the one of Pope Francis wearing a puffa jacket, or those pre-arrest shots of Trump. One can imagine a Star Wars world through the gaze of Wes Anderson’s style that allows the creative energy to be endless.

fake image by midjourney ai
Fake Image of Donald Trump is Being Arrested Generated by Midjourney AI

Differently from DALL-E sponsored by OpenAI – the manufacturer of ChatGPT, Midjourney stands as an individual and autonomous enterprise. Yet, it has not gotten any external funds up to now. Midjourney has attained great success considering it was born in a small way.

How does Midjourney work?

Midjourney, like most other GPT models, relies heavily on closed-source and proprietary software, making it difficult to understand the underlying technology. It relies on two crucial machine learning technologies: Deep Neural Networks and Diffusion Models.

This is because just like ChatGPT, Midjourney uses large language models in order to comprehend the text prompts that you give. The understanding is later changed to numeric vectors that resemble some numerical representation of a particular prompt of yours. Another complex process called diffusion is directed by this vector.

Diffusion, a relatively new concept in machine learning, involves gradually adding random noise to a dataset of images. Over time, the model learns how to reverse this noise and recreate the original image. With enough training, the model can generate entirely new images.

When you submit a text prompt like “white cats set in a post-apocalyptic Times Square,” Midjourney starts with a field of visual noise and, step by step refines it into a picture resembling your description.

This explains why AI-generated images often take a minute or two to develop fully. Stopping the process prematurely results in a noisy, unfinished image.

How much does midjourney cost?

Now, let’s talk about the price of this creative power. Unlike chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat, which offer nearly unlimited free usage, image generators like Midjourney have their limits. Each image generation task demands significant computing power, particularly from graphics processing units (GPUs), and consumes substantial video memory for denoising.

To use Midjourney regularly, you’ll need a subscription, starting at a minimum of $10 per month. This entry-level plan grants you 3.3 hours of GPU time, roughly equating to 200 image generations. For those seeking more, the higher-tier plans offer 60 hours of fast GPU time for $120 per month. These plans also grant unlimited images in Relaxed mode, albeit with longer processing times.

If you’re not committed to the highest quality, alternative free AI image generators are worth exploring, although they may not match up to Midjourney’s capabilities just yet.

Getting Started with Midjourney AI Tool

Now, let’s simplify the process of accessing and using Midjourney:

Accessing Midjourney

  1. Join the Midjourney Discord server, which is the gateway to using Midjourney.
  2. Visit the Midjourney website or use their Discord invite link to join.
  3. Note that Midjourney is no longer free to try, so you’ll need a subscription to consistently generate your own images.

Using Midjourney

  1. Once in the Midjourney Discord server, head to a “Newcomer” channel.
  2. Type “/imagine” followed by a text description of the image you want Midjourney to generate.
  3. Wait a bit as Midjourney processes your request, gradually improving the image’s resolution.
midjourney ai on discord
Screenshot of the Midjourney Bot on Discord Server

Maximizing Midjourney

  • Use the upscale (U) and vary (V) buttons below your generated image to refine the results.
  • Upscale to increase image resolution, and vary to explore variations of the selected image.
  • Experiment with the redo button for entirely new results.
  • Make use of parameters to fine-tune your image, such as aspect ratio (–ar 16:9).
  • Explore advanced prompts, including using existing images, remixing, and panning or zooming.

Crafting Effective Prompts

To get the best results, provide detailed prompts with styles, colors, or themes separated by commas. For example, “/imagine a serene beach at sunset, impressionist.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Does Midjourney steal art? Midjourney was trained on existing image samples, including art from various sources, for generating new pictures. This has raised concerns about copyright infringement, but some argue that the training process falls under fair use.
  • Can Midjourney make videos? No, Midjourney can’t create full videos, but it can generate process videos of its image generation with the “–video” parameter.
  • Does Midjourney use Stable Diffusion? While Midjourney uses diffusion, it’s unclear if it’s partially based on the open-source Stable Diffusion model.
  • Is Midjourney open-source? No, Midjourney is a closed-source, proprietary tool developed by a San Francisco-based research startup with a goal to turn profitable.
  • Who owns Midjourney? Midjourney is owned by an independent research firm of the same name, founded by David Holz in San Francisco. He’s also known for co-founding the hand-tracking company Leap Motion a decade ago.

Conclusion

There you have it, a simplified guide to Midjourney AI, unlocking the potential to create remarkable AI-generated images from text descriptions. Midjourney’s power is at your fingertips, so let your imagination run wild. If you have questions or want to share your Midjourney creations, feel free to engage with the community. Your journey into the world of AI art begins now! 🖼️🤖💭

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