I am not exaggerating once I say that I exploit Midjourney each day. Scroll up. Do you see that featured picture there? That is from Midjourney.
Once you’ve been utilizing one thing lengthy sufficient, it is easy to note the quirks. The little stuff you would not have observed initially turn out to be extra obvious particularly once you examine issues facet by facet.
A couple of days in the past I wrote up a comparability between DALL-E 3 and Midjourney however had to make use of pattern screenshots as my supply. However since that is the world of AI, issues transfer quick.
As we speak I used to be in a position to check DALL-E 3 by means of Bing Create to make use of my very own examples. On high of that, Adobe simply launched a brand new model of their picture era mannequin referred to as Firefly 2.
So how do these 3 really examine when trying on the little issues. Is there one you need to use in case you’re in search of a sure vibe over one other?
What are DALL-E 3, Midjourney, and Adobe Firefly?
Launched in October 2023, DALL-E 3 is OpenAI’s latest AI picture era mannequin. This evolution of DALL-E 2 has a greater immediate understanding than its earlier variations and works so significantly better with textual content.
Midjourney is thought for its detailed outputs, intensive customization by means of immediate engineering parameters, and nuance. It operates out of annoying discord, however is usually thought to be the perfect AI picture era instrument.
Adobe Firefly 2 is the following era of Adobe’s generative AI mannequin for imaging that got here out this week. This mannequin can generate better-quality photos tremendous simple like different instruments.
Adobe Firefly vs. Midjourney vs. DALL-E 3: Output Comparability
Photorealistic Portraits
Immediate: a close-up portrait of a drained school scholar
If I had been to select a winner, it is undoubtedly Adobe Firefly. It is real looking, the facial features is evident however refined, and it has glorious lighting. Then again, Midjourney’s output can be fairly good, nevertheless it’s softer — nearly like a portray. There additionally appears to be a rendering concern within the guide, nevertheless it’s virtually invisible until it is identified.
DALL-E’s generated picture is… effectively, it undoubtedly understood the immediate. It overemphasized the scholar’s exhaustion. These eyebags are too unnatural to be real looking, plus it has a “inventory picture” high quality to it.
It is also value mentioning that none of those photos have an uncanny valley feeling, which is a big plus in my guide.
Design & Structure
Immediate: a large angle view of a trendy brick wall manhattan-style loft with a sunken lounge
There is a similarity between these three photos: none understood the intent of my immediate fully. All of them created a Manhattan-style loft however struggled in making the sunken lounge half.
Adobe Firefly has the perfect lighting of all of them. I notably love how effectively the shadows correspond with the place the sunshine comes from and the way effectively they mix collectively. It seems probably the most real looking for a New York house.
In the meantime, Midjourney’s greatest asset is its consideration to element. From the books to the work on the second ground, it is every thing you anticipate from a typical loft-type house.
Once more, I am upset with DALL-E. It went overboard with the lighting and had a softer texture. It additionally has too many residing rooms — which is humorous & ironic as a result of it is the one one with a sunken part, nevertheless it’s not considered one of its 4 rooms.
Panorama
Immediate: wildflower meadow sundown panorama
Adobe Firefly’s output is lifelike, nevertheless it’s too much like inventory photos of meadows on-line. You might’ve additionally missed this, however attempt zooming in. Do you discover that not one of the flowers is rendered correctly? It is not noticeable from afar, however the wildflowers seem like glitching out.
Then again, the colours actually pop in Midjourney’s meadow. Nonetheless, Midjourney tends to stylize its outputs extra; you possibly can clearly see that right here. If you would like a portray somewhat than a practical picture, go for Midjourney.
DALL-E’s picture feels majestic prefer it’s a nonetheless from a fantasy film. It is hotter, and whereas it isn’t probably the most colourful, it has an in depth texture. It is good, which makes it my favourite to date.
Surrealist
Immediate: a surrealist portray of a big firefly in a home made from denim
Adobe Firefly’s output closely borrows from kids’s books. It confirmed a terrific understanding of the immediate, nevertheless it’s not fairly what I am in search of.
Midjourney gave me precisely what I needed: that whimsy feeling of surrealist artwork. It completely combines real-world photos with fantastical ideas. I’d’ve beloved it higher if it is set outdoors, however I like that even the firefly is made from denim.
One other small element I respect is including different components that make it weirder, together with the fingers on the firefly’s legs and the boarded-up home windows.
DALL-E has a distinct take, however I respect it as a lot as Midjourney’s. It created a story by making the denim home pants and the firefly’s making an attempt to suit into it.
There’s additionally the little issues like the 2 moons and the pocket home windows. It feels extra coherent as an artwork, which makes this a win for DALL-E 3.
I feel the difficulty right here was my immediate wasn’t tremendous clear on what precise elements of the image needs to be what. That is why every of those had its personal imaginative and prescient of what it thought I needed.
Summary Ideas
Immediate: the visualization of infinity
Infinity is not possible to create, however these three had been wildly completely different however nice makes an attempt. Adobe Firefly had a extra algorithmic method to infinity. It is much like visualizations of the Fibonacci sequence, however this one is extra expansive and has extra character.
The Midjourney one has plenty of storytelling potential, making it higher as a storyboard than standalone artwork. In the meantime, DALL-E is extra psychedelic, such as you’re getting swallowed by a vortex of colours. It seems like an intricate tie-dye shirt.
Pastiche (Artwork that imitate different artwork)
Immediate: ladies combating for equality within the fashion of dadaism
Adobe Firefly has a sound output, nevertheless it sadly missed the mark. It does not appear to be any Dada artwork. I additionally tried tweaking the immediate a bit to get a extra correct outcome, however the outcomes I get are all the time much like this one.
Midjourney and DALL-E succeeded the place Firefly failed: they understood the context. Their art work emulates Dadaism to a tee.
Midjourney leans towards collage artwork, much like the well-known Hannah Höch. Then again, Marcel Duchamp appears to be the principle inspiration for DALL-E’s artwork. Each artists had been outstanding throughout the Dada Motion.
Flat Design
Immediate: a flat vector illustration of an ai assistant
Adobe Firefly, as soon as once more, failed to grasp the immediate. The output itself is ok; it is nonetheless vector artwork — however the place’s the AI assistant? It is a disgrace since I really desire the look of Firefly’s art work over the opposite two.
Midjourney and DALL-E’s output has a extra typical vector artwork look. The previous’s illustration is healthier for displays and pitch decks, whereas the latter is ideal for web sites.
In Abstract…
Usability & Accessibility |
You must enter a immediate first earlier than you possibly can entry customization instruments for side ratio, colour, tone, lighting, and extra. It will also be built-in with different Adobe merchandise equivalent to Photoshop, After Results, and many others. |
Midjourney does not exist as a standalone software program however you should utilize it by means of the Midjourney bot in Discord. Parameters may be tweaked earlier than you submit a immediate, however you have to examine their intensive documentation first. It has a steeper studying curve than the opposite two. |
You should use it on the DALL-E web site, by means of ChatGPT Plus/Enterprise, or with Bing Picture Creator. Generated photos may be tweaked after the immediate. |
Once you want inventory picture to your content material, Adobe Firefly is your greatest wager. Among the many three, it produces probably the most lifelike photos. |
Midjourney prefers stylized outputs over realism. Nearly each picture generated by Midjourney seems like a chunk of artwork or an animated film nonetheless. Whereas you should utilize this instrument to your blogs, its predominant demographic ought to skew in direction of fanatics. |
You must anticipate easy however efficient photos from DALL-E. They don’t seem to be too loud nor muted in colour. Nonetheless, it tends to overcompensate on some prompts, resulting in some cartoon-ish outcomes. |
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Nothing spectacular, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly succesful. |
Non-existent. Except you are rendering single letters, you possibly can’t anticipate Midjourney to generate correct textual content for photos. |
The perfect among the many three. |
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The quickest AI picture generator I’ve tried to date. |
Nearly 1.5x slower in comparison with the opposite two. |
Simply shy of a minute common per era. |
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Context Understanding & Nuance |
Reveals some errors, even with low-context prompts. |
Typically positive with low-context prompts however struggles with high-context. |
Distinctive nuance and context understanding. It hardly ever misses a line within the immediate. |
Midjourney can typically get caught on producing a picture, which may create a backlog. |
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Finest for creating art work. |
Finest for high-context prompts. |
So Now There’s 3 Precise Opponents
I’m glad that different AI picture mills have gotten extra nuanced and artistic. Competitors is all the time wholesome. Not solely does it give customers extra choices, nevertheless it additionally forces a product to evolve. I feel we’ll look again in a 12 months and snort at how “dangerous” these generations really had been.
Adobe Firefly 2 and DALL-E 3 are each worthy opponents for Midjourney as a result of they every excel in particular elements.
Firefly is greatest at creating real looking photos, Midjourney excels at advanced art work, and nothing may beat DALL-E 3’s understanding of prompts (and textual content era).