Midjourney

1. What is Midjourney

Midjourney is a generative AI platform developed by an independent community-funded research lab with around 60 team members. Its core mission is to explore “what humanity aspires to become”, and it is renowned worldwide for building the world’s most aesthetically pleasing AI models. Officially launched in 2022 and operating based on the Discord ecosystem, it stands as one of the most influential AI art generation tools globally.

Apart from mature image and video generation capabilities under its Eye project line, Midjourney is also expanding into multiple future-oriented fields, including the upcoming Pen for text creation, Face for facial AI tools, plus three hardware product lines named Heart, Hand and Lips. It will launch more products centered on imagination, collaboration, reflection, aesthetics and human prosperity in the future.

2. Core Functions

2.1 Core Image Generation Features

• Text-to-Image: Create images in any style via natural language descriptions, covering realism, oil painting, traditional Chinese style, sci-fi, anime and thousands of other styles
• Image-to-Image: Upload reference images to generate works with similar styles or contents, supporting style transfer and element fusion
• Partial Editing: Inpaint to modify designated areas; Outpaint to expand canvas boundaries
• High-Definition Upscaling: Enlarge images up to 4096×4096 pixels while retaining fine details
• Style Blending: Use the /blend command to mix styles and elements from 2 to 5 images for original creative works
• Character Consistency: Achieve unified character images across different scenes and poses via the –cref parameter

2.2 Video Generation Capabilities

• Supports text-to-video and image-to-video, creating HD dynamic clips up to 15 seconds long
• Delivers outstanding light transition and smooth motion with top-tier artistic texture
• Allows custom video styles and key frame control to meet basic video creation demands

2.3 Auxiliary Tools

• /describe: Generate accurate prompt words automatically from uploaded pictures
• Seed Control: Fix generation randomness with the –seed parameter
• Bulk Generation: Produce multiple variants at once to boost creation efficiency

3. Pricing Plan

As of May 2026, Midjourney has completely canceled permanent free plans and temporary free trials. All features are accessible only with paid subscriptions. Four official plans are available:

4. Step-by-Step Usage Guide

Midjourney runs fully on Discord, follow the steps below:

1. Sign up for Discord: Visit discord.com to register and log in
2. Join Official Server: Enter Midjourney official website and click Join the Beta to jump to its Discord server
3. Subscribe to Plans: Send /subscribe to Midjourney Bot via private message and finish payment on the redirected page
4. Start Generation
   • Enter /imagine in public channels like #newbies or via private messages with the bot
   • Input English prompts (recommended) and add parameters to adjust effects
   • Wait about 1 minute to get 4 preview images
5. Edit & Save Works
   • Click U1-U4 to upscale corresponding images
   • Click V1-V4 to create image variants
   • Use /zoom, /inpaint and other commands for secondary editing
   • Right-click images to save locally

5. Target Users

• Creative Professionals: Graphic designers, UI/UX designers, illustrators, concept artists
• Film & Game Industry Workers: Game artists, storyboard designers, animators
• Marketing & Content Creators: E-commerce designers, self-media creators, marketing planners
• Architecture & Industrial Designers: Architects, product designers, interior designers
• Individual Users & Educators: Art students, creative enthusiasts, teachers

6. Application Scenarios

1. Graphic Design: Posters, flyers, packaging drafts, logo sketches, brand visuals
2. Creative Illustration: Children illustrations, sci-fi art, traditional Chinese style paintings, book covers
3. Concept Design: Game characters & scenes, film storyboards, architectural sketches, product prototypes
4. Marketing Materials: Social media visuals, e-commerce main images, ad banners, short video covers
5. Content Creation: Article illustrations, short video materials, podcast covers, PPT pictures
6. Art Creation: Personal artworks, digital art exhibitions, NFT production

7. Advantages Over Peer AI Tools

Core Strengths Summary:

• Unmatched artistic texture, especially skilled at light, color and atmosphere building
• Rapid model iteration with major version updates every 3 to 6 months on average
• Mature community with massive free prompts, artworks and tutorials
• Powerful video generation, a top choice for commercial AI short video production

8. Full Tutorial & Objective Evaluation

Basic Usage Skills

1. Prompt Structure: Subject description + details + style reference + parameter settings
   Example: a cute cat wearing a wizard hat, sitting on a floating book, fantasy style, soft lighting, 8k –ar 16:9 –style raw
2. Common Parameters
   • –ar 16:9: Set image aspect ratio, also support 1:1, 9:16, 4:3
   • –style raw: Reduce artistic effects for higher realism
   • –seed 12345: Lock seed value to generate similar works
   • –cref [image link]: Keep unified character appearance via reference images
3. Advanced Tips
   • English prompts deliver more precise generation results
   • Add artist names and art genres to refine styles
   • Analyze excellent works’ prompt logic with the /describe command

Pros & Cons

Advantages

• Stable output quality with superior aesthetics, easy to create high-level works without repeated debugging
• Leading video creation performance for quick creative short videos and dynamic concept art
• User-friendly for beginners, master basic operations within 10 minutes
• Clear commercial licensing rules to avoid copyright disputes

Disadvantages

• No local deployment available, fully dependent on cloud server and Discord
• No free plan, relatively high long-term usage cost
• Less accurate understanding of Chinese prompts compared with domestic AI tools
• Lower fine-tuning flexibility than Stable Diffusion, not ideal for ultra-detailed modification
• Extra network tools are required for access in mainland China

9. Usage Notes

1. Network Access: Legal network acceleration tools are needed to visit Discord and Midjourney official sites in China
2. Copyright Compliance: Do not create content infringing intellectual property rights such as famous IPs and trademarks; strictly follow licensed scope for commercial use
3. Content Rules: Prohibit illegal, violent, pornographic, discriminatory and false content, otherwise accounts will be permanently banned
4. Account Security: Never share your account to avoid penalties caused by others’ violations
5. Prompt Optimization: Learn English prompt writing skills to improve creation accuracy
6. Content Review: Midjourney adopts AI plus manual review; appeal via official channels if wrong judgment occurs

10. FAQ

1. Is free trial still available now?

   A: As of May 2026, all free trials have been canceled. All functions require paid subscriptions.

2. Can generated works be used commercially?

   A: Users with Basic or higher plans are allowed for legal commercial use. Enterprise plan offers full commercial authorization for large-scale business projects.

3. Does it support Chinese prompts?

   A: It accepts Chinese input, yet English prompts achieve more accurate and richer results due to English-dominated model training, so English is highly recommended.

4. What is the default image resolution?

   A: Default size is 1024×1024 pixels, up to 4096×4096 pixels after high-definition upscaling.

5. Can I deploy Midjourney locally?

   A: No. All rendering tasks run on remote cloud servers, and no local version is released.

6. How to keep character images consistent?

   A: Use –cref to upload character reference images and adjust reference strength with –cw; fixed seed values also help maintain unified styles and elements.

7. Is subscription refundable?

   A: Refunds are available within 72 hours after subscription if no fast generation time is used by contacting billing@midjourney.com. No refund will be approved beyond 72 hours or after usage.