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In the world of AI image generation Midjourney is a legend. Launched in July 2022 the platform quickly established itself as a leader in the market.
Relying on its own home baked diffusion model based on Stable Diffusion, the service soared in popularity, becoming the best AI image generator we've reviewed. This despite, or maybe because of, its quirky user interface choice. Instead of a flash looking dashboard, we were forced to schlep over to Discord and enter our image prompts behind an /imagine motif, and a long indeterminate queuing system. Positively artisanal.
You can check out Midjourney by clicking here.
Midjourney offers a Basic plan starting at $10 a month, which provides 3 hours of 'open public' fast image generation via a member gallery. It's a basic plan with few bells and whistles, but it gets the job done. The three other plans start at $30 a month up to $120 and offer faster generation, private images and more generation concurrency.
All plans come with some useful editing options. For instance, the platform has a two-click out-painting (zoom out) function and the ability to upscale images. These features allow users to expand their images or improve resolution on demand, making it easier to create high-quality images without needing advanced graphic design skills.
If you need more control over your images, you can tweak the prompt with custom zooms and use the image remix and canvas variation buttons. Again using these features can be a little clunky because of the Discord interface, but Midjourney users seem to be a forgiving bunch.
As one of the best AI art generators we've tested, a stand-out feature for Midjourney is its distinctive artistic style. The platform excels in delivering images with a unique flair and particular attention to lighting and texture. The results are not just good -- they're often stunning. Typing in a prompt like "a gorgeous tiger sitting on a deserted beach at sunset," for example yields images that are both visually striking and detailed.
What sets Midjourney apart from other AI image generators is its ability to add artistry into every image. You can tell an Midjourney creation from a mile away, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your religion. But it does make Midjourney particularly appealing to artists and designers who need AI help, but don't really want to admit it.
To use the service, you need to sign up to the Midjourney Discord chat channel. Once logged in, you trigger image generation with the phrase '/imagine' followed by your text prompt. It's not the most user-friendly process, and feels a bit clunky, but it kind of works.
This slightly odd interface poses both challenges and opportunities. On one hand it limits the platform's accessibility to those who are familiar with, or willing to learn, how to navigate Discord. On the other, it fosters a community of users who are forced to share their prompts and images, creating a collaborative environment where users can learn from each other. This community aspect is actually quite cool, and inspirational at times.
This interface is currently the only way to interact with Midjourney, but there is a promise of a new dashboard arriving soon as highlighted on the showcase home page. Hopefully this new upgrade will also include an easier way to access and manage user accounts.
One of the unsung features of Midjourney is its strong community aspect, delivered through the Discord channels. Users share their prompts and generated images in the chat, allowing for a collaborative environment where users can learn from each other's successes and failures. It's a great way for newcomers to learn through feedback, and for experts to act as mentors and help people improve their skills.
It's also a double-edged sword of course. It means on the lower plans your generated images are public by default, which could be a drawback for those who value privacy or are creating images for confidential commercial purposes. Spend more money, get more privacy.
The Discord community is also the first line of technical support, where users can ask questions, share tips, and troubleshoot common issues. While this peer-group model is useful, it does lack the reliability of a dedicated customer support team. You can get direct support, but it's limited. Thankfully there are some solid tutorials and help FAQs which you can use.
Despite its quirks, Midjourney produces exceptional images. However, like any image generator, getting the best results requires trial and error and not a little patience. I found that generating a final image would typically take several attempts, via the Variations button (v1, v2 etc) and/or the Upscale option which allows for out-painting (zoom out) functionality. Surprisingly that is the extent of the editing apart from some limited image variations or crude inpainting options.
Learning which prompts yield the best results is like digital gardening. You sow your prompt, observe the results, and tweak or harvest accordingly. This iterative process can be time-consuming, but it's also rewarding. Over time, you develop a better understanding of how to craft prompts that produce the best images in the shortest time.
Two years is a long time in AI, and where Midjourney once led a very small pack of image generators back in 2022, now there are significant rivals arriving almost every month. The latest, Flux AI, is a spectacular image service which seems to have grabbed the quality crown - at least for now. This means that in order to keep up, Midjourney is going to have to improve its interface, provide more flexible editing or offer some other meaningful changes. It's a merciless market, as many other image generation services have discovered to their cost. Can the best AI tool for images stay top of the pile? We'll be intrigued to see where the service goes next.
Midjourney is a superb veteran in the AI image generation space, delivering images that are more than just good -- they're artistic. The interface, while decidedly old-school and a bit cumbersome, shouldn't deter you if you're willing to navigate through Discord to access the platform's capabilities. Patience and practice will go a long way in getting the best results from this powerful tool. However, it remains to be seen how long this market dominance will continue.
