There’s a purpose why Midjourney has been the discuss of the city within the AI world. Typically it’s as a result of they’re as soon as once more roped into discussions about deepfakes. However right now, it’s for one thing good: they lastly launched an replace to their V6 mannequin referred to as, properly, what else however Midjourney V6.1.
And belief me, it’s a game-changer.
So, what’s new with Midjourney V6.1? Properly, the crew has centered on bettering the mannequin’s creativity and making the photographs much more coherent and lifelike. I’ve been utilizing it for weeks, and let me let you know, it may be a delicate change, however it makes an entire world of distinction within the output high quality.
Oh and yeah, in addition they added a reasonably nifty function that customers have been begging for for the longest time.
However do not simply take my phrase for it. Let’s dive in and see how Midjourney V6.1 stacks up in opposition to its predecessor throughout completely different picture classes.
What’s Midjourney?
Let’s be trustworthy — in the event you’re even remotely accustomed to AI, you then’ve most likely heard of Midjourney. That is an AI picture era mannequin that may create any photograph starting from paintings to actual (properly, one thing that appears like one, no less than) photos. Launched in 2021, Midjourney’s newest mannequin is V6.1, which we’re reviewing right now and evaluating to V6.
For a extra full overview, right here’s our overview of Midjourney from a yr again. It’s an awesome starter information in the event you’re seeking to familiarize your self with the appliance.
What’s New With Midjourney V6.1?
Because it’s probably not a brand new mannequin however fairly an replace to V6, this new model centered on bettering the pre-existing mannequin’s creativity and picture coherence. This implies much less lacking (or further) fingers, extra sensible photos, higher creativity, and quicker turnaround time. The crew additionally put an emphasis on bettering textual content era, which we’re going to overview in a bit.
Right here’s an entire rundown of all of the enhancements they’ve executed:
Since its launch three weeks in the past, Midjourney additionally launched a brand new function on their net app for V6.1 — a greater editor. So, what precisely makes it higher?
Again when Midjourney didn’t have an online app and might solely be accessed on Discord, they already had a function referred to as area variation. This lets you choose an space of a generated picture and Midjourney creates a brand new model of it. Take this picture for instance:
Let’s say I’m probably not a giant fan of the lake. Right here’s how I’d change it utilizing Midjourney’s Discord bot.
From there, you may choose the area that you really want modified.
Then, you get 4 new variations of your authentic picture with the chosen area modified.
So, what’s the issue?
The difficulty with that is that you just don’t actually have any management over the brand new photos. You’ll be able to’t change the immediate, so that you’re caught with the unique immediate and Midjourney’s simply going to maintain producing new variations of the chosen space utilizing no matter immediate it already has.
With V6.1 and Midjourney’s net app, that is modified. Now you may choose the world AND change the unique immediate. So, for instance, right here’s a cute frog:
Let’s use the final one. If you click on the picture, a toolbar will seem on the appropriate facet. Choose the button labeled “Editor.”
Let’s say I wish to see its tongue. Bizarre request, I do know. However what I can do now could be press the “Erase” button above and choose the mouth space. From there, I’ll simply change the immediate from “A cute frog” to “A cute frog together with his tongue protruding.”
And now you don’t need to surprise anymore if Midjourney can edit photographs. Right here’s the ultimate product:
Midjourney V6 vs. V6.1 In contrast: Output High quality
Let’s evaluate Midjourney V6.1 to its earlier model utilizing the identical prompts throughout completely different classes.
Portrait (Individuals, Medium to Lengthy Pictures)
| Immediate: portrait, an outdated sensible man, glamour avenue medium format pictures, shot on cinealta, day, cityscape background, vintage-inspired apparel, mushy ambient streetlights, reflective surfaces, delicate bokeh impact | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
Each nonetheless give me a slight uncanny valley feeling, however V6.1’s model is much more coherent (as they promised). The older mannequin nonetheless feels actual in the event you don’t zoom in, however when you do, you may see slight points with the person’s eye.
Portrait (Individuals, Shut-up Pictures)
| Immediate: someplace within the yr 1983, a girl wanting as much as the digicam, birds eye view, melancholia, closeup, analog | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
The face of the lady in Midjourney V6’s output is somewhat too easy and brushed up for my liking. It additionally ignored the a part of my immediate the place I specified “fowl’s eye view” angle.
The newer model did neither — exhibiting higher realism and immediate understanding.
Portrait (Non-Human)
| Immediate: A hyperrealistic magnolia bonsai tree, studio lighting, darkish background, remoted | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
I feel these are each good photos, but when I have been to nitpick, I’d say that the lighting on V6 went somewhat too overboard and it didn’t actually generate a lot leaves in comparison with flowers.
Panorama
| Immediate: victoria falls, leica m6, panorama pictures | |
| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
Whereas the colours of each photos are muted to an extent, the previous’s model is somewhat too muted for my liking. V6.1 has extra balanced shade grading.
Reside Motion Movie Nonetheless
| Immediate: a nonetheless from an early 2000s film, a person in his bed room studying a ebook, colourful background objects, whimsical parts, within the type of wes anderson, symmetrical | |
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| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: a nonetheless from a superhero film, a superheroine who can management hearth, avenue setting, within the type of marvel studios | |
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| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: a nonetheless from a Nineteen Sixties japanese movie, a samurai standing over a vanquised foe, within the type of akira kurosawa | |
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| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
Past creativity, what I can say is that V6.1 follows the immediate extra intently since their outputs are nearer to the administrators I discussed. And what the hell is occurring with these three ft from the primary picture?
Animated Movie Nonetheless
| Immediate: a ghost and a canine taking part in catch, whimsical, magical realism, within the type of hayao miyazaki, studio ghibli | |
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| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
This one’s a matter of desire actually — each photos are ok in my ebook. I do have to present the slight edge to Midjourney V6.1 as a result of it feels extra whimsy. However once more, that’s simply my opinion.
Digital Artworks
| Immediate: pixel artwork scene, a sorceror’s library, 8-bit recreation | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: manila at twilight, digital artwork, low poly, geometric, colourful gradients, in mushy shade fields | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: an eldritch horror unleashed within the cosmos, darkish fantasy illustration, lithography, Nineteen Eighties illustration, gothic darkish and macabre, larry elmore, lovecraftian | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
The primary one reveals decrease structural coherence in Midjourney V6 as a result of, let’s be trustworthy, who’s going to place a library exterior their house? V6.1’s output additionally has extra constant pixel tiling in comparison with its older model’s inconsistent pixel sizes.
The second comparability reveals extra creativity within the a part of Midjourney V6.1, in my view. It didn’t simply take polygons and formed them to appear like a metropolis — it’s far more intentional and makes use of shade contrasts properly.
And as for the third one, take your decide. Each are wonderful.
Summary Ideas
| Immediate: a visualization of hope | |
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| Midjourney V6 | |
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| Midjourney V6.1 |
If I’m an artwork pupil, I’d really feel like V6.1’s output is much more interpretable than V6 — which is only a bunch of glitter with bokeh in my view. I can’t see the way it’s speculated to symbolize the idea of hope.
Brand (With out Textual content)
| Immediate: a emblem for a flower store, clear pastel background, within the type of paul rand | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: a emblem for a wine distillery, clear dark-ish background, minimalist, bauhaus type | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
| Immediate: a emblem for a furnishings retailer, artwork deco type | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
Whereas each are good, I feel Midjourney V6’s outputs are somewhat too “loud” to be a emblem. There’s simply too many issues happening.
Brand (With Textual content)
| Immediate: a emblem for a flower store, clear pastel background, within the type of paul rand | |
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| Midjourney V6 | Midjourney V6.1 |
It’s the identical challenge because the one above: Midjourney V6’s output does an excessive amount of for use as a emblem. As for textual content era, each did rather well to write down “Austen’s” however the former model wrote it off-center — so I’ve to present the sting to V6.1.
Can You Use Midjourney For Free?
Sadly, no. If you wish to use Midjourney, you want to avail of any one in all their plans, which begins at $10 monthly. When you do, and let’s say you ran out of generations, you may charge photos on their web site they usually’ll provide you with a free hour of era in alternate for it.
What Else?
Midjourney is on a roll, and V6.1 is proof of this. Their newest replace is a testomony to the crew’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what is doable in AI-generated artwork. And boy, I can’t wait to see what else is in retailer for the remainder of 2024 since they promised V6.2 later this yr.
The enhancements in realism, coherence, and artistic expression are flat-out spectacular. Midjourney V6.1 is taking the visible storytelling recreation to an entire new stage.
Because the world of AI artwork continues to evolve at breakneck pace, it’s not DALL-E 3 or Firefly that’s main the change, however Midjourney. With every iteration, they’re charming and galvanizing creatives in every single place, leaving us hungry for extra.
