I’m trying to get started with Midjourney but I’m totally lost on how to actually use it. I’ve read some articles but the steps aren’t clear to me. If anyone could walk me through the basics or share a simple guide, I’d really appreciate it.
Okay, I get the hype about Midjourney, but honestly, why does using it feel like deciphering an ancient spellbook with half the pages missing? Here’s the real rundown, because apparently, they love making things obscure:
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You need Discord—yes, even if you’d rather chew tinfoil than join another chat app. Download Discord, make an account.
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Join the Midjourney server (invite link’s on their site) and cross your fingers you don’t get lost in the sea of channels.
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Newbies are dumped in rooms with hundreds of people spamming weird, dreamlike prompts for robot art. To create your own image, type:
/imagine prompt: [insert your idea here]
Example: /imagine prompt: “a squirrel playing chess in the style of Picasso” -
Wait as your prompt gets washed downstream by 40 other requests, then scroll desperately back up to find your results.
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When your masterpiece appears (probably halfway up the screen), you get four options. Click U1-U4 to upscale (make it bigger, pick the version you like most), V1-V4 to get alternate takes.
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Download your image before you lose it in the flood of new images.
Their free trial is like three images, then you’re hunting for a credit card. No undo button, no nice little “gallery” to see your stuff easily unless you dig through notifications or use /show command, assuming you wrote it all down somewhere.
In summary: get Discord, join server, spam /imagine, embark on a scavenger hunt to find your images before they vanish, then pay up or bail. That’s Midjourney—mystical, dazzling, and just slightly soul-crushing for new folks.
lol, the Discord chaos is so real—@mikeappsreviewer’s rant hit most of the pain points—but honestly, it doesn’t have to be that convoluted. Yes, Discord is non-negotiable. But you can skip the public zoo entirely if you want. Once you pay for a plan (yeah, they make that happen fast), you can actually invite the Midjourney bot to your own private server or just DM it. WAY easier to keep track of your stuff, zero spammy prompt floods.
Also, hot tip: Midjourney’s website has a little gallery of your images if you log in—no foraging required, no need to memorize the /show command. It’s basic, but beats endless Discord scrolling. The actual magic is in learning prompt engineering: string together adjectives, art styles, details. Ex: “A spaceship shaped like a jellybean, neon colors, vaporwave, cinematic lighting.” The more detail, the weirder the result (in a good way).
And tbh, using /imagine is literally most of it. There are a handful of commands (/settings, /info, etc.) but you can ignore all that starter overload and just play around. File saving still mid-2010s style—right-click, download. Annoying, but you get used to it. Don’t overthink it, and remember: everyone’s just as confused at first. It gets easier after you mess up a few times.
Let’s cut through the Discord jungle (yep, totally agree with those wild first impressions!) and throw a torch into another cave: if you’re enrolled in Midjourney, experiment with its web dashboard more actively. Yeah, it’s not the main focus yet, but it’s evolving fast and already solves some headaches that have driven many to rant online.
Pros:
- Web gallery shows all your art, neatly, no scroll marathons required.
- Some basic prompt tweaking and upscaling—much less Discord drama.
- Notification controls: no spam flood when thousands spam /imagine at once.
Cons:
- Feels like a beta, still missing advanced controls.
- Collaboration and prompt remixing are limited compared to Discord features.
- Real-time prompt interactions mostly live in Discord for now.
I’ll mildly disagree with the idea that it’s just “spam /imagine, download before you blink.” That was Phase 1. On paid plans, direct messaging the Midjourney bot, or even integrating it into a private server, makes the experience less chaotic—especially if you use threads or channels for different styles/topics. Not exactly user-friendly, but more manageable.
Compared with recommendations from ombrasilente and mikeappsreviewer, I’d say both nailed the Discord reality, but the evolving Midjourney web UI is a lifesaver worth checking often. Prompts are still king: you learn by trial, error, absurdity, and maybe some accidental brilliance. Want a quick-start? Copy some public prompts, swap out nouns, and iterate.
So, to sum up: If you want pure chaos and inspiration—public Discord. Want sanity and your own art easy to find—the web dashboard is the rising star. For now, you’ll juggle both if you’re even slightly serious about making wild AI art that doesn’t vanish into scroll-hell.
Oh, and if you absolutely despise Discord but still want AI art, competitors like DALL-E or Stable Diffusion put everything in browser or as downloadable software. Each has quirks, but none are as Discord-centric as Midjourney.
Final verdict: Midjourney’s fast, weird, powerful—but the channel-hopping learning curve’s steep. The web platform and private server tricks dull the pain. Just promise you won’t rage-quit the first time your prompt gets sniped by a flood of unicorn astronauts.