If you’re a fan of AI generated art, then no doubt you will have already become acquainted with Midjourney. So, you will be pleased to hear that Midjourney has a new function that will give you the ability to boost your workflow even more.
Midjourney has released its /describe function, a command that lets you upload your own image to the AI, which then generates four descriptive prompts for you based on that image. These prompts can then be tweaked to generate new, similar images.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Midjourney describe functionality to see exactly what it can do.
How to Use the Midjourney Describe Functionality
Midjourney is one of the most popular artificial intelligence programs used by millions around the world to generate digital art, along with Stable Diffusion and OpenAI’s DALL-E. And that’s because it has the ability of creating stunning images just from a text prompt.
Many people were duped early in 2023 from an image of the Pope wearing a white puffer jacket that was generated by Midjourney, which illustrated just how realistic its output can be. There were also several deep-fake images of Donald Trump being arrested, which popularized the AI imaging tool even more.
However, the Trump images caused a storm on Twitter, which saw Midjourney rise in popularity, even more. But along with the controversy already surrounding the rapid proliferation of AI to the masses, which has also resulted in China banning ChatGPT, this means that Midjourney is no longer free to use.
According to Midjourney’s CEO, David Holz, the free trials were ended because of “extraordinary demand and trial abuse”, and after a “viral how-to video in China” had encouraged people to make “throwaway accounts” to abuse the system.
The user who got Midjourney to generate the now viral Trump images was also banned.
This means that in order to use Midjourney at present, which is now in Version 5.2 as of publication, you will need to sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription, even though the company itself has admitted that there has been a problem with credit card fraudsters using the service.
In addition, you will still need to have a Discord account to access the AI image generator.
Midjourney currently has no plans to bring back the free trial, although it is considering offering “limited free tiers”. And as far as the /describe function is concerned, it has also been failing at times, because of “mysterious issues”.
But if all of this information hasn’t put you off, then let’s look at what /describe can do — when it works.
Prompt You Like
Basically, if you paste an image into the prompt box with the command /describe, Midjourney will generate four prompts for you, which you can use to create even more images that are based on the original.
This source image can be a photo, drawing, diagram, AI-art, or anything else.
This is how you are able to streamline your workflow process, because Midjourney can teach you how to use prompts better, and you won’t have to go to an AI text generator like ChatGPT to help you create a prompt.
The /describe command will also be helpful if you find it difficult to define in words the image that you want to create, because Midjourney will provide you with four generated prompts that could be more inspirational or suggestive than you can create yourself. You can then use those prompts as is, or you can edit and/or elaborate them to use later.
So how do you use the /describe function? Well, it’s pretty simple when you follow these steps:
Step 1
First you have access to Midjourney, which you can do through your Discord account. If you don’t already have an account, check out our setup guide here.
Step 2
When you have your image, whether it’s a photograph that you already own, or an AI-generated image that’s been generated by Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, or other AI model, instead of using the /imagine prompt, you simply type ‘/describe’ (without the quote marks).
Note that you don’t need to add the image with the + icon. Start by typing in “/describe” and then Midjourney will prompt you to add the image.
For this example, I will use this beautiful photo of a person scuba diving, from Unsplash.
Step 3
Wait for Midjourney to work its magic, before viewing the four text prompts, which will not only describe the image you gave it, but also parameters like the colors, background, lighting, and style.
Here are the four descriptions it game me for the above image:
- a scuba diver swimming above coral reef, in the style of dreamy symbolism, orange and blue, naturalistic poses, iso 200, naturalistic shadows, suspended/hanging, slender –ar 128:85
- a man is diving infront of coral, in the style of patty maher, blue and amber, gutai group, low-angle shots, national geographic photo, high resolution –ar 128:85
- a diver is in the sea during the dive on hard coral, in the style of dreamy symbolism, orange and blue, dramatic use of shadows, lively action poses, suspended/hanging, iso 200, flickr –ar 128:85
- diver in deep water in crystal waters near coral reef, in the style of light sky-blue and dark orange, natural symbolism, lively action poses, suspended/hanging, kahlil gibran, ethical concerns, dutch marine scenes –ar 128:85
Step 4
Choose the prompt you want to use by clicking on one of the four buttons, and it will generate a new image pack using that description. Of course, you also have the ability to change any of the text prompts that Midjourney generates for you before you submit your chosen prompt.
Here are the results from the source image above.
1. a scuba diver swimming above coral reef, in the style of dreamy symbolism, orange and blue, naturalistic poses, iso 200, naturalistic shadows, suspended/hanging, slender –ar 128:85
2. a man is diving in front of coral, in the style of patty maher, blue and amber, gutai group, low-angle shots, national geographic photo, high resolution –ar 128:85
3. a diver is in the sea during the dive on hard coral, in the style of dreamy symbolism, orange and blue, dramatic use of shadows, lively action poses, suspended/hanging, iso 200, flickr –ar 128:85
4. diver in deep water in crystal waters near coral reef, in the style of light sky-blue and dark orange, natural symbolism, lively action poses, suspended/hanging, kahlil gibran, ethical concerns, dutch marine scenes –ar 128:85
If you wanted to, you could edit these image descriptions and iterate on the process.
Midjourney Describe Alternatives
If you’re still needing some help to get Midjourney to give you prompts that work via the /describe command, then you can also visit IMI Prompt, which gives you the ability to build text prompts that you can then input into the AI image generator.
IMI Prompt
IMI Prompt helps you to elaborate on your original text prompt ideas with a lists of resources that you can include, such as:
Composition
Templates of compositions available by IMI Prompt include a wide range, varying from Album Cover, Business Card, Color Palette, Comic Strip, Fashion Moodboard and Full Body Character Design to Interior Design, Nail Art, Tattoo Design and Wedding Invitation.
Textures
If you want to add specific textures to the objects of the images you want Midjourney to generate, you can choose from finishes like 3D Fractals, Chainmail, Epoxy, Denim, Hairy, Kaleidoscopic, Platinum, Pinstripes, and a whole host of other appearances.
There are also resources that include text prompts for famous artists, both contemporary and classic, techniques, colors, photography, and themes, ranging from ranging natural, futuristic, mythological, Bollywood, bohemian, and romantic.
You can even get IMI Prompt to add from a list of parameters like Stylization, Upscale, and Midjourney version, choose from a range of filters like Dark Fantasy, Magic Realism, Steampunk, and Tribal Art, as well as add from other variables, including lighting, background, era, and themes.
IMI Prompt can be accessed via your web browser or through its dedicated iOS and Android apps, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, respectively.
Dall-E 2 Prompt Generator
Although technically not a describe-type function, if you’re feeling stuck for inspiration, you could also visit Prompt Generator for OpenAI’s DALL-E 2.
This website does exactly what it says – it generates random prompts that you can use in DALL-E 2 (or any other AI image generator, like Midjourney, for that matter), which you can also elaborate on, and help give a boost to your imagination.
Final Thoughts
As time goes by, AI generated art that’s produced by services like Midjourney only keeps getting better and more mind blowing, due to their evolving functionality and mega-fast turnaround times.
So, why not give the Midjourney /describe functionality a drive, and allow it to fuel you up on your creative journey?
For more tips on Midjourney, see our articles:
