We know what you’re thinking, ‘another AI chatbot, really?’ and yes, artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage in 2023. Midjourney, the new kid on the block, is a completely different tool from the others, as its sole function is in producing images. Unlike Open AI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard Experiment, Midjourney is not a Large Language Model (LLM) but rather a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to interpret and process each prompt.
What is Midjourney?
Midjourney was created by an independent, self-funded research lab exploring new methods of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. These guys are focusing on design, human infrastructure, and artificial intelligence and because of this, Midjourney is still in its beta/experiment phase.
This unique AI tool uses text-based prompts or descriptions to create images. If you’re wondering how it does this, I find that it helps to think of its GPU (or database like ChatGPT) as being trained on dataset images to recognise what each image depicted to mimic and recreate it, as opposed to instead of being trained by natural language to answer questions.
Unlike other AI tools, it doesn’t have a website that you can log in to and use the technology. The only way to access it is through Discord, a chat forum designed for the gaming community. Because of this, your image requests are not done privately but rather in a group forum, meaning up to a thousand people at a time can request images and see your image requests as well.
So, initially it can be a little overwhelming submitting requests with new messages coming through instantaneously.
How to Use Midjourney on Discord
To begin using Midjourney, you will first need to create a Discord account and then add the Midjourney sever to your account – Discord has instructions to do this correctly. Once your account set up is complete, enter any chat group and in the chat bar type ‘/imagine’ and select the prompt to get creative!
Midjourney will produce four versions of your prompt at a time and allows modifications to each of these images. Edits to your artwork can include resizing to either make images larger or smaller, as well as suggesting variations to designs. While the standard ‘/imagine’ prompt will create a somewhat realistic image, using the newest update, the Version 5 prompt, will create images that are as close to life-like as possible.
Discord provides a ‘trial support’ channel for all users to share their problems, feedback and any additional enquires. As well as the option to message the Midjourney bot directly, offering a private space to create images and designs – make sure you have the Discord App installed to unlock this feature.
And having played around with Midjourney a bit, here’s my Top Tip: The more detailed your prompts are, the better image generation that will result from Midjourney.
How to Sign Up
For those of us who typically like to ‘try before we buy,’ unfortunately, this is not an option. After unexpected levels of demand and trial mistreatment on Discord, the site banned free trials of the AI bot.
Midjourney does offer 3 different pricing plans:
Basic Plan – $8 per month – limited to 200 generations per month with 3 concurrent fast jobs.
Standard Plan – $24 per month – unlimited standard generations, 15 fast track generations and 3 concurrent fast jobs.
Pro Plan – $48 per month – unlimited standard generations, 30 fast-track generations and 12 concurrent jobs.
What About Image Copyright or Licensing?
Each subscription allows you to use the images Midjourney has generated for you commercially, claiming that the images created for you do not belong to Midjourney or Discord. However, Discord requests that businesses who earn a profit above $1,000,000 a year, subscribe to the Pro Plan.
Along with paying a subscription fee, Discord has a strict set of rules to follow on Midjourney chatrooms and failure to comply will result in your account getting shut down.
Quite simply the rules are:
- Don’t be a jerk.
- Don’t use [Discords] tools to make images that could inflame, upset, or cause drama.
- Be respectful to other people and the team.
Time to Get Started….
Incorporating Midjourney into your business is a great way to generate visual ideas. Whether it be for a logo, product design, or branding.
Whether you outsource your graphic design jobs or do it in-house, incorporating Midjourney will help cut down on idea generation time and take your creativity to another level!
