What is Midjourney, and how can you use AI to create art?

Midjourney is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) powered platform that allows users to generate unique artwork such as characters, images, and graphics with short text prompts.

A generative AI platform is an artificial intelligence system that can generate new and unique content, often with images, text or other creative effects. Unlike traditional rule-based AI systems designed for specific tasks, generative AI platforms use advanced algorithms to autonomously produce novel and contextually relevant results, typically based on deep learning techniques.

Midjourney AI is one such innovative AI platform that opens up new opportunities for creative expression and can deliver results beyond what is clearly programmed. This can be applied to a variety of artworks to create realistic images that cannot be found in the real world.

This article explains what Midjourney AI is, how Midjourney works, effective reminders, how Midjourney differs from Dall-E 2, and the benefits of Midjourney artwork. It also raises the pressing question: Is it ethical to use AI-generated art? There's also a step-by-step guide for artists to use Midjor to create unique AI-generated artwork.

Related: The ABCD of AI: Automation, Big Data, Computer Vision and Deep Learning

What is Midjourney AI?

Midjourney is an AI program and service developed by research lab Midjourney Inc. The Midjourney team is led by David Holz, co-founder of Leap Motion. Like OpenAI's DALL-E and Stability AI's Stable Diffusion, Midjourney creates visualizations using natural language expressions called queries.

Midjourney's website describes itself as an “independent research laboratory exploring new ways of thinking and expanding the intelligence of the human species.”

It's open in beta since July 12, 2022, and users can create high-quality artwork with Midjourney using simple text-based prompts in Discord bot commands. No special hardware or software is required to use Midjourney. But you need to have a Discord account to access the service.

How does Midjourney work?

Midjourney works with a sophisticated combination of two machine learning technologies: large-scale linguistic models and diffusion models. As users enter the query, a large language model decodes the meaning of the words and converts them into a numeric vector.

This vector is critical in guiding the distribution process, Midjourney uses a distribution model to transform random noise into visually appealing art. Diffusion models involve gradually adding random noise to the training data set. The model learns to reverse this noise over time and becomes adept at generating entirely new images.

For example, if a user enters a text query such as “Bitcoin mining with bright colors and animation”, Midjourney starts with a field of visual noise. In latent diffusion, a trained AI model subtly reduces noise, gradually displaying an image that captures the essence of the objects and themes described in the original query.

The combination of language understanding and diffusion modeling empowers Midjourn to create attractive and diverse AI-generated artworks based on user input or suggestions.

How to start Midjourney – a step-by-step guide

The Midjourney beta can only be accessed through a Discord account. Here's a step-by-step tutorial on using Midjourney to create unique AI-generated images:

Step 1: Join the mid-journey discussion

Existing Discord users can visit Midjourney.com, click the “Join Beta” button, or go directly to Midjourney Discord. For those who don't have a Discord account, first register to create a free account on Discord and then join the Midjourney Discord server. You can access Midjourney Discord from anywhere – web, mobile and desktop apps.

Step 2: Choose a subscription plan

When the service first launches in July 2022, anyone can use it to generate 25 images for free. However, this changed in April 2023 as Midjourney discontinued its free trial program. Midjourney is not available for free except for some short promotional periods. The price plan can be found in the table below.

Step 3: Use the “/imagine” command to create artwork

To get started, you can go to the “# newbies” channel by following the number on the Midjourney Discord server. There are many such channels and you can choose any one of them. Enter “/” followed by “imagine” in the newbie channel and ask Midjourney to generate the required images.

For example, /imagine: “Animated Bitcoin mining in bright colors.

Another example of the /imagine query, “Ethereum blockchain element in a modern tech setting” yielded the following results.

How long does Midjourney take to create an image?

On average, Midjourney takes about a minute to create four artwork options. However, this is not fixed, and the time may increase if one wants a higher image or non-square aspect ratio output.

Mid-travel subscription plans have Fast and Relaxed modes, which change the generation speed based on the plan subscribed to. Queuing behind others is unnecessary in fast mode. However, even the most expensive paid plans have a monthly limit on the number of images created in express mode.

In relaxed mode, image requests are sent to a queue. The generation may take one to 10 minutes to complete. Midjourney also has an expensive “Turbo” mode that can be activated with the “/turbo” command. Turbo mode generates new images four times faster but takes twice as long as the monthly subscription plan.

How do I save Midjourney images, and who owns them?

To save a generated image to Midjourney, click on the image to open it full size, then right-click and select the “Save Image” option. On mobile, long tap the image and then tap the download icon in the top right corner.

Midjourney allows users to view all previously created images, including the questions used to generate them. To find previously created midjourney images on Discord, go to the Discord Inbox “Mention” tab and download previous images.

The images of Mid-Trip are in the public domain, and ownership is open source. Midjourney describes itself as an open community that allows images and questions to be shared and used by others when posted in a public space. By default, all images on Midjourney are publicly viewable and editable. Therefore, they can be accessed and modified by anyone. This makes Midjourney's selling of artwork questionable.

What is the difference between Midjourney and Dall-E 2?

Dall-E 2 launched ChatGipt, a text-to-image model developed by the OpenAI research lab and the successor to Dall-E. In the year In 2019, OpenAI received over $1 billion in funding from Microsoft and Hosla Ventures, and in January 2023, following the launch of Dall-E 2 and ChatGPT, it received an additional $10 billion in funding from Microsoft. Midjourney is self-funded and developed by independent lab Midjourney Inc.

While Dall-E 2 and Midjourney are based on natural language expressions that generate images from queries, their use depends on specific requirements and preferences. Some of the differences are as follows.

Access: Midjourney can be accessed through Discord, while Dal-E 2 is only available through OpenAI's website. Image resolution: The Midjourney can produce an image at 1792×1024, while the Dall-E 2 produces a resolution of 1024×1024. Subscription: Both have subscription plans and users can check the updated pricing on their respective websites to see which one suits them best.

Midjourney benefits and advantages

Midjourney allows artists to explore different artistic styles, themes and concepts, fostering creativity and pushing the boundaries of traditional art forms. Artists can experiment with many mediums and techniques, resulting in versatile results ranging from abstract compositions to realistic representations. It is time-saving due to the rapid AI transformation to create images.

Additionally, integration with platforms like Discord enhances Midjourney's collaborative features, allowing artists to share ideas, techniques, and creativity in a community of like-minded individuals.

In addition to artistic expression, Midjourney can be used to create brand images, illustrations, social media creations, marketing collateral, non-fungible token (NFT) art projects, architectural renderings, and more.

Is AI legal and ethical?

While AI art is legal, its ethical implications are multifaceted and include issues related to innovation, ownership, bias, and community impact. A common argument is that while AI tools contribute to innovation, the input and guidance comes from humans. Clear guidelines on ownership and ownership are essential to address these issues.

Commercial use of AI-generated art raises questions about fair compensation and the potential for piracy. Artists need to be aware of the ethics of selling AI-generated work and how it fits within the norms of the art world.

AI models are trained on data sets that may carry biases in the data – gender, race or cultural biases. This can inadvertently lead to biased results, reinforcing existing stereotypes or prejudices. Artists and developers should be aware of these biases and work to mitigate them.

The computational resources required to train and run advanced AI models such as Midjourney and Dal-E2 increase environmental risk. The ethical discourse should consider the carbon footprint associated with large-scale AI operations.