The ONLY MidJourney Tutorial Beginners Need - Full Crash Course

100x Engineers
1 Oct 202394:17

TLDRThe video tutorial, titled 'The ONLY MidJourney Tutorial Beginners Need - Full Crash Course,' is an extensive guide by Abov, a founding team member at Hunx and a product designer with experience in designing various products and websites. Over the past 10 months, Abov has been deeply involved with MidJourney, a text-based AI art generator, creating over 10,000 prompts and even a card game. The tutorial is aimed at both beginners and experienced users, covering everything from the basics of getting started with MidJourney to advanced techniques for creating complex images. The video begins with an introduction to MidJourney, explaining its evolution from its initial release in February 2022 to the current version 5.2. It then guides viewers on setting up MidJourney on Discord, subscribing to a plan due to the discontinuation of the free plan, and using slash commands to generate images. Abov discusses different subscription plans suitable for various user needs, from basic to mega plans. The tutorial delves into the art of creating prompts, starting with easy-level prompts that involve simple phrases or words, moving on to medium-level prompts with advanced variables like artistic style, composition, medium, camera, subject description, environment, lighting, atmosphere, and mood. It concludes with hard-level prompting, which involves technical aspects like negative prompting, aspect ratios, seed values, stylization, chaos, and repeat commands. Abov also demonstrates how to upscale images, perform face swaps, blend images, and use the 'describe' feature to generate prompts based on existing images. In addition to the technical walkthrough, Abov shares resources for further learning, including Twitter accounts of experienced MidJourney users, websites for prompt inspiration, and tools for building complex prompts. The video is a comprehensive guide that empowers designers to harness the full potential of MidJourney for their creative projects.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 **MidJourney Crash Course**: Abov, a product designer and founding team member at Hunx, offers a comprehensive tutorial on using MidJourney, a text-based AI art generator.
  • ✍️ **Extensive Experience**: Abov has spent 10 months deeply exploring MidJourney, creating over 10,000 prompts and even a card game, demonstrating his expertise.
  • πŸš€ **Getting Started**: To use MidJourney, one must have Discord installed, create a server, and add the MidJourney bot to start generating images through text prompts.
  • πŸ” **Model Evolution**: MidJourney has evolved through various versions, with significant improvements in character realism, lighting, shadows, and aesthetics from V1 to V5.2.
  • πŸ“ˆ **Pricing Plans**: MidJourney offers different subscription plans catering to various needs, from basic experimentation to enterprise-level usage.
  • πŸ’‘ **Prompt Structure**: Effective use of MidJourney involves understanding how to structure prompts, using tokens that the AI interprets to generate images.
  • 🌟 **Creative Themes**: The tutorial explores creative themes like 'India in the 2080s' and 'Will Smith doing Puja for Ganesh Chaturthi' to demonstrate the AI's capabilities.
  • πŸ”§ **Advanced Settings**: Users can adjust settings like model version, style intensity, public mode, remix mode, and image generation speed for more control over output.
  • πŸ“š **Learning Resources**: Abov recommends resources like Wiki Art and the MidJourney website to learn about different art styles and mediums for more effective prompting.
  • πŸ”€ **Image Manipulation**: Techniques like face swapping, blending images, and using the 'describe' feature to generate prompts based on existing images are explored for creative applications.
  • βœ‚οΈ **Post-Editing**: It's emphasized that post-editing in tools like Photoshop is often necessary to refine the AI-generated images and achieve desired results.

Q & A

  • What is Midjourney and how does it work?

    -Midjourney is a text-based AI art generator that creates images based on the text prompts provided by the user. It uses a combination of CLIP and diffusion models to generate images and is continuously retrained on new data to improve its outputs.

  • How has Midjourney evolved since its first version?

    -Midjourney has seen significant improvements with each new version. Version 1 was a basic introduction, version 2 made characters more realistic, version 3 improved lighting and shadows, version 4 greatly enhanced the quality, and version 5 increased photorealism. The current version, 5.2, has further pushed aesthetics and character design.

  • What are the steps to start using Midjourney?

    -To use Midjourney, one needs to download Discord, create a server, add the Midjourney bot to the server, and subscribe to a plan to generate images. After subscription, users can start generating images using the /imagine command followed by their prompt.

  • How can a designer use Midjourney for various use cases?

    -Designers can use Midjourney for multiple purposes such as creating illustrations, designing products, websites, games, and even wedding invitations. It allows for exploration of various themes and ideas through the use of different prompts and parameters.

  • What are the different levels of prompting in Midjourney?

    -There are three levels of prompting: easy, medium, and hard. The easy level focuses on basic prompts, medium level explores parameters and variables, and the hard level delves into technical concepts.

  • How does Midjourney interpret the prompts?

    -Midjourney breaks down the words and phrases in a prompt into tokens, which are then compared to the training data the model has been trained on. This comparison is used to generate an image that matches the concept described in the prompt.

  • What are some of the settings and parameters that can be adjusted in Midjourney?

    -Users can adjust settings such as the model version, style intensity, public mode, remix mode, variation mode, and the speed of image generation (turbo, fast, or relax mode). There's also an option to reset settings to default if needed.

  • How can one upscale or generate variations of an image in Midjourney?

    -To upscale an image, users can click on the U1 to U4 buttons corresponding to the image they wish to upscale. For variations, the V1 to V4 buttons allow users to generate variations based on the base image with options for subtle or strong changes.

  • What is the purpose of the V region feature in Midjourney?

    -The V region feature allows users to select a specific part of an image and write a prompt to change that particular portion. This is useful for brainstorming and making targeted changes to an image.

  • How can the aspect ratio of an image be changed in Midjourney?

    -The aspect ratio can be changed by using the aspect ratio command followed by the desired width and height ratio. For example, for an Instagram story size, one would use the command with a 9:16 ratio.

  • What is the seed parameter in Midjourney and why is it used?

    -The seed parameter is a number that serves as a starting point for the image generation process. It is used to ensure consistency across multiple image generations, which is particularly useful when creating a series of images with a similar style or theme.

Outlines

00:00

πŸ˜€ Introduction to Mid Journey and Personal Experience

The speaker, Abov, introduces the topic of Mid Journey, a text-based AI art generator, and shares his extensive experience with it, having written over 10,000 prompts. He discusses his background in product design and his work with Hunx, a company that was recently acquired by Unacademy. Abov outlines the structure of the video, which will include a crash course on Mid Journey, starting from basic to advanced levels, and will cover various use cases for designers.

05:00

πŸ“– Understanding Mid Journey's Versions and Subscription Plans

The paragraph covers the evolution of Mid Journey from its initial release in February 2022 through its various versions, highlighting improvements in character realism, lighting, and shadows. It also explains the need to subscribe to a plan due to the discontinuation of the free plan, and outlines the different subscription options available, ranging from basic to mega plans.

10:04

πŸš€ Getting Started with Mid Journey and Exploring Settings

The speaker provides a step-by-step guide on how to get started with Mid Journey using Discord, including creating a server and adding the Mid Journey bot. He also explains how to subscribe to a plan and access various settings within Mid Journey, such as model version, style intensity, public mode, remix mode, and image generation speeds.

15:07

🎨 Prompting Techniques and Understanding Mid Journey's Token System

This section delves into the art of creating prompts for Mid Journey, explaining how the system breaks down words and phrases into tokens that are compared to training data to generate images. The speaker emphasizes the importance of structured prompts and explores three levels of prompting: easy, medium, and hard. He also discusses the process of upscaling and generating variations of an image.

20:08

🌟 Advanced Prompting with Artistic Styles and Compositions

The paragraph focuses on advanced prompting techniques, including the use of artistic styles and compositions to control the look and feel of the generated image. The speaker discusses various variables that can be manipulated, such as artistic style, composition, medium, camera, subject description, environment, lighting, atmosphere, and mood.

25:09

πŸ“š Resources for Creative Inspiration and Learning

The speaker shares resources for gaining inspiration and learning about different art styles and parameters that can be used in prompts. He mentions the Mid Journey website for exploring various styles and WikiArt for understanding different art forms. Additionally, he provides a document with a list of artists and their styles that can be referenced in prompts.

30:12

πŸ“ˆ Aspect Ratios, Seed Values, and Stylization in Mid Journey

This section covers technical aspects of Mid Journey, including manipulating aspect ratios to fit specific image requirements, using seed values for consistency across generations, and adjusting stylization levels to control the default styling applied to prompts. The speaker also introduces the chaos command, which affects the variation among generated images.

35:13

πŸ”„ Exploring Mid Journey's Advanced Features and Cool Hacks

The speaker discusses advanced features in Mid Journey, such as the repeat command for generating multiple variations of a prompt, using the 'describe' feature to generate prompts based on existing images, and creating anime-style images with the '/nni' command. He also covers practical applications, such as generating logos and converting images to SVG format for scalability.

40:15

πŸ› οΈ Practical Applications and Post-Editing with Mid Journey

The paragraph showcases the practical use of Mid Journey in creating assets for a game called Overpowered, including game boards, cards, and characters. The speaker emphasizes the importance of post-editing in Photoshop to refine the generated images and maintain consistency. He also highlights the use of Mid Journey for creating landing page assets and other graphic design elements.

45:16

🌐 Following Influencers and Using Tools for Better Prompting

The speaker provides a list of Twitter accounts to follow for inspiration and learning in Mid Journey. He also recommends websites and tools for crafting better prompts, such as The New Computer Science for guidelines, Prompt Hero for a repository of prompts, and a prompt builder tool for creating complex prompts easily.

50:18

πŸŽ“ Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Mid Journey

The speaker concludes by emphasizing that Mid Journey is about experimentation and playing around with prompts. He encourages viewers to subscribe for updates and shares a fun fact about the video production, noting that it took 48 hours to shoot and resulted in approximately 7 hours of footage.

Mindmap

Keywords

MidJourney

MidJourney is a text-based AI art generator that transforms textual prompts into visual images. It is utilized by designers and artists to create unique illustrations by describing the desired image through text, which the AI then generates. In the video, the speaker has extensive experience with MidJourney, having written over 10,000 prompts, and shares insights on how to use the tool effectively.

Prompts

Prompts are the textual descriptions or phrases that users input into MidJourney to guide the AI in creating a specific image. They are the core of the creative process with MidJourney, requiring users to be descriptive and imaginative. The video discusses the construction of effective prompts, emphasizing the importance of clarity and specificity.

Discord

Discord is a communication platform where MidJourney is integrated, allowing users to interact with the AI tool through a server. The video instructs viewers on how to set up a Discord server and use MidJourney within it, highlighting Discord as an essential part of the MidJourney experience.

AI Tools

AI Tools, in the context of the video, refer to artificial intelligence software like MidJourney that assist in creative tasks such as art generation. The speaker discusses their exploration of AI tools after their previous company was acquired, indicating a broader interest in how AI can be leveraged in design and creativity.

Product Designer

A product designer is a professional who designs and develops tangible products, often with both functional and aesthetic considerations. The video's speaker identifies as a product designer with two years of experience, which informs their approach to using MidJourney for creative tasks.

Crash Course

A crash course is an intensive, condensed learning experience meant to teach a subject rapidly. The video is described as the 'only MidJourney crash course beginners need,' suggesting it is a comprehensive guide designed to quickly educate viewers on how to use MidJourney from a beginner to an advanced level.

Parameters and Variables

Parameters and variables in the context of MidJourney are additional keywords or settings that users can adjust to control the style, composition, and mood of the generated images. The video delves into exploring various parameters and variables to demonstrate how they influence the final output of the AI-generated art.

Upscaling

Upscaling refers to the process of increasing the resolution of an image while maintaining or enhancing its quality. The video mentions upscaling as a method to improve the resolution of AI-generated images, showcasing tools like w2x that can be used for this purpose.

Seed

In MidJourney, a seed is a numerical value that contributes to the randomness of image generation. By using a specific seed, users can achieve a degree of consistency in their image outputs. The video explains how to find and use a seed for generating images with a consistent style.

Stylize

Stylize is a command in MidJourney that allows users to control the degree of artistic styling applied to the generated images. The higher the stylize value, the more pronounced the AI's interpretation of style becomes. The video discusses how to use the stylize parameter to fine-tune the artistic look of the images.

Chaos

The chaos parameter in MidJourney is used to introduce randomness into the image generation process. A higher chaos value results in greater variation among the generated images, while a lower value leads to more uniformity. The video explains how to use the chaos command to control the diversity of the AI's output.

Highlights

The tutorial is aimed at beginners and covers the basics of using Midjourney, an AI art generator.

The presenter, Abov, shares his expertise after spending 10 months and writing over 10,000 prompts on Midjourney.

Midjourney is a text-based AI art generator that creates images from text prompts.

The tool uses a CLIP and diffusion model to generate images and is continuously retrained on global outputs.

Different versions of Midjourney have evolved from 2022 to 2023, with significant improvements in character realism and image quality.

To use Midjourney, one needs to have a Discord account and create a server to integrate the Midjourney bot.

Midjourney has discontinued its free plan, and users must subscribe to a plan to generate images.

The presenter demonstrates how to construct prompts using themes like 'India in 2080s' and 'Will Smith doing Puja for Ganesh Chathurthi'.

Midjourney offers various settings to adjust the style, level of detail, and speed of image generation.

The tutorial explains how to upscale images and create variations using the V region feature for localized changes.

Advanced prompting techniques are discussed, including the use of artistic styles, composition, medium, camera, subject description, environment, lighting, atmosphere, and mood.

The presenter provides tips on how to create a well-structured prompt for better image outputs.

The use of aspect ratios, seed values for consistency, stylization levels, and chaos parameters for variation are covered in depth.

The tutorial also explores advanced features like negative prompting, multi-prompting, and repeat commands for greater control over image generation.

Practical applications of Midjourney are showcased, including game development, website assets, and logo creation.

Post-editing in Photoshop is emphasized for refining the generated images and achieving desired outcomes.

The presenter shares resources for further learning and inspiration, including Twitter accounts of expert prompters and websites for prompt ideas.

A prompt builder tool is introduced to assist users in constructing complex prompts with various parameters and weights.

The video concludes with a reminder that Midjourney is about experimentation and playing with different prompts to discover new creative possibilities.