Midjourney — If Picasso was a Program
Write down anything… and see what happens
Today’s technology makes you wonder if smart-enough computers have the intellectual capacity to take over the world one day. I try not to think about it too much, but until that happens, the technology of today has some fascinating gizmos that everybody can enjoy; they’re the kind that make you wonder “what kind of magic will be there in 10 years or so?”. I try not to imagine what the 2030s will look like, but that’s 7 years from now, and I’ve just found the most enjoyable program yet… and that program is called Midjourney.
Though it’s still a relatively new concept in today’s technology, 2022 will be remembered as the year that “AI art” burst into public awareness, and this new technology is very fascinating. Basically, AI art is a program that creates an entirely original piece of art based on what you tell it to do, in text form mostly. So, for example, let’s say you write “knight with a saxophone”. Based on that phrase, the AI tool will do its best to draw just that, a knight with a saxophone — the exact thing you asked for. And there isn’t just one picture, but there’s four! I immensely enjoyed playing around with this program, but the one I’ve enjoyed most is called Midjourney which, in truth, is the only AI art I’ve tried out.
The program is a real treat, and all you have to do is use it on Discord. Interestingly enough, that’s where the program can be found. And even though it’s a peculiar method, the program is very fun to toy around with. Though I haven’t had the chance to try out any other AI art programs, Midjourney is probably the only one you’ll need, and here’s why…
I spent hours on this thing
It all started when I watched a bunch of random YouTube videos, the subject of which isn’t important, because what matters is that these videos featured art using Midjourney. I quickly rushed to wonder what the hell this “Midjourney” is, and while searching for the answers, I came across this thing called “AI art”… but mainly Midjourney.
Anyways, I looked up this “Midjourney”, and I was redirected to a site that told me to open my Discord. Good thing I already had Discord, because if I had to download it especially for Midjourney then I probably wouldn’t have done so and I’d skip the entire thing altogether. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, because I opened my Discord and I was redirected to a server featuring this “Midjourney”, the AI that draws art based on prompts you give it.
Upon entering the server, I’m told to enter one of the channels. I’m then bombarded with posts upon posts of people writing up all kinds of demands to the AI, and several pictures pop up in response. There’s a picture of a green dinosaur monster with octane render; a picture of a photorealistic couple sitting under a cherry blossom; there were even plagiaristic pictures of various popular superheroes.
As I continue to get bombarded with these posts, I type in my own prompt. What exactly I typed in first, I can’t remember. What I do remember is that I wrote something completely zany, something like “weaponized lawnmower” or “extraterrestrial blimp” or something that sounds like it came out of a sci-fi/fantasy movie. Long story short, I had so much fun typing in prompts that I completely exhausted my trial version in like 10 minutes. At first, I was like “ok no more for me then”, but then I quickly learned the agony of going through some days without Midjourney. I quickly purchased a package and subsequently returned to typing down prompts on Discord, so that I could get a bunch of random pictures that look like they came from DeviantArt. By the time I was about to quit, I generated over 200 images, and easily enough, I wanted to continue. But then I told myself that if I didn’t stop then, I’d never stop, and that’s a bad thing. Truth is, I’m in debt and I can’t waste money on AIs that generate whatever you tell them to. I mean, it was fun but you have to know when to stop.
I would love to exemplify just how awesome it is to literally write down anything and see how the program responds, but it’s just not something that can be described with mere words. My point is, go try Midjourney for yourself. It’s a real blast and the first several prompts are free, so you can try it out before deciding if you wanna pay for it or not. If you like it enough, I recommend buying a package and goofing around with whatever you want to type, just not risqué stuff because the system doesn’t allow it.
Anyways, if you find Midjourney enjoyable, then I promise that you’ll want to spend hours on it just to see how the AI reacts to whatever you type it. So… go and do it now because there’s nothing more to add.
