Imagine describing a picture in words and watching it appear before your eyes. That’s Midjourney—an AI tool that transforms text descriptions into stunning images.

Since its launch, Midjourney has become one of the most popular AI image generators, known for its artistic quality and distinctive aesthetic. Whether you want to create art for fun, visualize ideas for work, or explore your creative side, Midjourney makes image creation accessible to everyone.

What Is Midjourney?

Midjourney is an AI image generation tool. You describe what you want to see (called a “prompt”), and the AI creates an image based on your description. No drawing skills required.

For example, you might type:

“A cozy coffee shop on a rainy evening, warm lighting through windows, watercolor style”

And Midjourney generates an original image matching that description.

The tool was created by an independent research lab led by David Holz (co-founder of Leap Motion). Unlike some competitors, Midjourney focuses heavily on artistic quality and aesthetic appeal, which is why its images often have a distinctive, polished look.

How Does Midjourney Work?

Midjourney uses a type of AI called a diffusion model. Without diving too deep into the technical details, here’s the basic concept:

The AI was trained on millions of images paired with descriptions. It learned relationships between words and visual elements—what “sunset” looks like, how “impressionist style” affects an image, what makes something “futuristic.”

When you write a prompt, the AI starts with visual noise (like TV static) and gradually refines it, step by step, into an image that matches your description. Each step makes the image clearer and more aligned with what you asked for.

The result is a completely new image that never existed before—not a copy or collage of existing pictures.

Getting Started with Midjourney

Midjourney runs through Discord, a chat platform. If that sounds unusual, don’t worry—it’s simpler than it seems.

Step 1: Set up Discord If you don’t have Discord, download it at discord.com and create a free account. It works on desktop, mobile, or in your browser.

Step 2: Join Midjourney Go to midjourney.com and click “Join the Beta.” This takes you to Midjourney’s Discord server.

Step 3: Subscribe Midjourney requires a paid subscription (they discontinued the free trial). Plans start at around $10/month for basic access.

Step 4: Create your first image In any of the “newbies” channels or in your direct messages with the Midjourney bot, type:

/imagine prompt: a golden retriever wearing a tiny cowboy hat, portrait style

Press Enter, wait about a minute, and watch your image appear.

Understanding Midjourney Results

When you run a prompt, Midjourney generates four image variations in a grid. Below the images, you’ll see buttons:

U1, U2, U3, U4 - “Upscale” buttons. Click to create a larger, more detailed version of that image (numbered 1-4, left to right, top to bottom).

V1, V2, V3, V4 - “Variation” buttons. Click to generate new images similar to that one.

🔄 - Re-roll button. Generates four completely new images from the same prompt.

This system lets you explore options and refine toward exactly what you want.

Writing Effective Prompts

The prompt is everything in Midjourney. Better prompts lead to better images. Here’s how to write them:

Start with the subject What’s the main focus of your image?

“A black cat”, “An ancient temple”, “A bowl of ramen”

Add descriptive details What does it look like specifically?

“A fluffy black cat with bright green eyes sitting on a velvet cushion”

Specify the style How should it be rendered?

“…in the style of a vintage photograph” “…digital art” “…oil painting” “…anime style”

Set the mood and lighting

“…dramatic lighting”, “…soft morning light”, “…neon glow”

Include composition hints

“…close-up portrait”, “…wide angle”, “…bird’s eye view”

A complete example:

/imagine prompt: a fluffy black cat with bright green eyes sitting on a red velvet cushion, Victorian portrait style, soft candlelight, oil painting, ornate gold frame visible at edges

Useful Midjourney Parameters

You can add parameters at the end of your prompt to control the output:

—ar (aspect ratio) Change the image dimensions:

—ar 16:9 (widescreen) —ar 9:16 (vertical/phone) —ar 1:1 (square)

—v (version) Use a specific Midjourney model version:

—v 6 (or whatever the current version is)

—style Adjust the stylization level:

—style raw (less Midjourney “beautification”)

—no (negative prompts) Exclude elements from your image:

—no text, —no people

Example with parameters:

/imagine prompt: minimalist workspace with laptop and coffee, morning light —ar 16:9 —style raw

What Midjourney Does Well

Artistic quality - Midjourney images often look professionally crafted, with strong composition and aesthetic appeal.

Styles and moods - It excels at capturing specific artistic styles, from photorealistic to painterly to abstract.

Fantasy and imagination - Surreal, fantastical, and conceptual images are a sweet spot.

Portraits and characters - People and character designs typically come out well-proportioned and expressive.

Environmental scenes - Landscapes, interiors, and architectural images are often stunning.

Where Midjourney Struggles

Text in images - AI image generators famously struggle with text. Letters often come out garbled or nonsensical.

Exact specifications - Wanting “exactly 5 apples” or “the letter A” is hit or miss.

Technical accuracy - Complex machinery, specific hand positions, or detailed technical subjects can have errors.

Consistency across images - Getting the same character to look identical across multiple images requires advanced techniques.

Real people - While it can create realistic faces, replicating a specific real person accurately isn’t the tool’s purpose (and raises ethical concerns).

Practical Uses for Midjourney

People use Midjourney images for:

Concept visualization - See ideas before building them (interior design, product concepts, event planning)

Content creation - Blog headers, social media posts, presentation graphics

Creative projects - Book covers, album art, game assets, personal art

Brainstorming - Quickly visualize multiple directions for a creative project

Learning and exploration - Understanding art styles, practicing visual communication

Just for fun - Creating amusing, beautiful, or weird images for entertainment

Pricing Overview

Midjourney offers several subscription tiers:

Basic (~$10/month) - Limited generations per month, suitable for casual use

Standard (~$30/month) - More generations, better for regular creators

Pro (~$60/month) - Even more generations plus “stealth” mode (images stay private)

Mega (~$120/month) - Highest limits for power users

All plans include commercial usage rights for images you create.

Copyright and Usage Rights

When you create an image with Midjourney:

• Paid subscribers generally own the images they create and can use them commercially
• Specific terms may vary, so review Midjourney’s current Terms of Service
• You can’t copyright AI-generated images in most jurisdictions (as of early 2026)
• Be thoughtful about creating images of real people or copying specific artists’ styles

Tips for Beginners

Experiment constantly - Try different prompts, styles, and parameters. You’ll learn faster by doing.

Study what works - Browse Midjourney’s community gallery to see prompts that created successful images.

Save prompts that work - When you find a style or structure you like, save it as a template.

Don’t expect perfection - AI generation involves randomness. Sometimes you’ll need multiple attempts.

Join the community - Midjourney’s Discord is full of helpful people sharing techniques and inspiration.

Your First Challenge

Ready to try? Here’s a starter challenge:

Create an image of your ideal vacation spot that doesn’t exist. Describe it in detail—the environment, time of day, weather, style. Run it through Midjourney and see what appears.

Then try three variations with different styles (maybe one photorealistic, one illustrated, one painterly) and see which resonates with you.

That hands-on exploration will teach you more about Midjourney than any tutorial. Welcome to AI-generated art.