AI-Generated art has become a hot topic, and Midjourney is one of the key players at the forefront. So what exactly is AI (artificial intelligence) generated art? Simply put, it is creative work (visual, audio, or otherwise) created by a machine learning process. In other words, a computer “learned” certain information and used it to create a new image.
Midjourney works by the user feeding the software various words and phrases. The computer then combines images from its database to create an image. The front cover for a June 2022 issue of the British magazine The Economist was made using the program.
The software often struggles with small details like fingers and toes. It also struggles mightily with text. Many words come out jumbled or with random characters that do not spell anything. I think a safe assumption would be that the developers purposely did this to avoid copyright infringement. So if you are looking to spell something using Midjourney, you can forget it.
Though it still has challenges, software programs like Midjourney are making art creation accessible to the average person.
AI-generated art is not without controversy. Three artists, Kelly McKernan, Sarah Andersen, and Karla Ortiz, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt in January 2023, alleging that these businesses had violated the rights of millions of artists by teaching AI tools using five billion images that had been scraped from the internet without their permission.
Regardless of where you stand on this issue, we can all see this technology will have many use cases in the future.
I spent a day using Midjourney to create various images, and this list shows my favorites.
1 Midjourney Created this Young Teen Ninja with a Pet Cyborg Turtle
This edit was my favorite. I loved the extra detail on the boy’s face. The robotic turtle also looked very believable and meshed well with the scene. I could easily see things being a television series or movie.
2 Don Cheadle as a Futuristic Destructive Robot
The program sampled versions of renowned actor Don Cheadle and mixed him with images of others.
3 A Cyborg Boston Terrier
I know my fellow pet lovers will understand me when I say I wish I could keep my dog with me always. I asked Midjourney to turn a Boston Terrier (my breed of choice) into a Cyborg.
4 Young Cartoon Nerd
This would not be DorkDesk if we did not try to recreate a cartoon version of a nerd logo. In this prompt I told Midjourney to create a young cartoon nerdy male with curly hair. While the software may struggle with sharpness on realistic scenes, cartoons were no problem.
5 Midjourney created this Teen with a Curly Afro in a Bright Coffee Shop
I prompted Midjourney to create a teen with a curly afro in a colorful coffee shop. I really love how the AI decided to highlight his face with some random light source. This edit really shows the power and potential of his technology.
6 Midjourney Creates a Young Wizard
In this edit, I told Midjourney to create a young wizard turning his friend into a frog. I also prompted the software to use yellow and blue glowing accents and to add a magic wand. The frog and the magic wand seem to be joined, but I think this is something I could have fixed with more edits. I also really loved the following alternate version:
7 I told Midjourney to Create a Black Superhero
In this edit, I told Midjourney to create a black superhero with glowing blue accents. I also told the program to have a long-flowing blue cape and to have lasers shooting out of his hands. I think the software did a great job of bringing to life exactly what I pictured in my head.
8 Modern Living Room
I told Midjourney to create a modern living room with a glowing television, and many large plants. In this creation I wanted to see how the software handled creating a scene with no characters or people.
9 A Futuristic Cyborg on an Alien Planet
For this edit, I told the software to create a futuristic cyborg on an alien planet at dusk.
10 It’s a Dork at a Desk
I told Midjourney to create a realistic young Dork with curly hair typing at a futuristic desk. It looks it could be the real-life version of the cartoon we created earlier.
11 Elegant Painting of a Woman in a Green Dress
I told the software to create a painting of an elegant woman with long black hair, posing in a green dress.
12 LeBron James as Iron Man
In this cool creation I told the software to create NBA superstar LeBron James as Iron Man with glowing yellow accents.
13 I Told Midjourney to Create a Child Handing Flowers to a Mystical Forest Monster
The software did not do a great job of putting the child at the correct angle. Midjourney allows the user the ability to create multiple variations of a specific work, so this is something I could have fixed had I kept tinkering with the controls.
14 Turning a BMW into a Car of the Future
In this edit, I told Midjourney to turn a 2020 BMW 850i into a car of the future. I also set it in the rain and in Time Square.
15 Game of Throne’s Jon Snow as a Cartoon
I told Midjourney to turn Game of Throne’s iconic character Jon Snow into a cartoon. I also prompted it to add his wolf Ghost. This image is what the program created.
Midjourney was able to create many different styles of artwork. Simply by changing your words and phrases, you can craft almost anything. One can only imagine how far AI-generated art will go in the future.
Anyone can write on DorkDesk. Start writing!