Some thoughts on #MidjourneyAI - A thread.

Midjourney is an idea generator not a creative solution. Powerful? Certainly. Fun to use? Absolutely. It feels almost like a drug, a quick fix for creators block, instant gratification.

You get a rush when it spits out the four images based on your prompts and you get another rush when you upres an interesting variation of your original result.

Midjourney is 2022's version of flapping a polaroid picture and watching the image slowly develop before your eyes. But why does it feel so fun and rewarding?

It taps directly in to variable rewards. Variable reward is the third phase of the Hook Model by @nireyal. www.nirandfar.com/how-to-manufacture-desire/

But is #Midjourney good for creatives? Absolutely it is! Especially when used as an idea generator as opposed to an output tool. Pinterest driven mood boards can only get you so far.

Midjourney let's artists to explore a topic, genre or style and then flip it on it's head by adding additional or even contradicting prompts. Some of the best results I've had were from prompts with [Ultra modern, high tech, retro, midcentury]. Try and find that ref on Pinterest!

So what are the main #midjourney drawbacks? It gives artist a false sense that they're "creating" something. I've made that misconception myself! "I created this image in Midjourney!" But... no you didn't. AI created it based on a few prompts and a tiny idea.

And... it's so good! Just pump in a few prompts, make some variations, upres to max and post on social media, enjoy the kudos (✋ I'm guilty of this).

Finally, you're still only as good as your ideas. There's a reason why the vast majority of #midjourney images are horror or cyberpunk based (psst... they're easy to describe).

#midjourney often nails the tones, colors, and structures of an idea but can fall apart in the details. This makes midjourney an amazing, fun and competent concepting tool or idea generator but not it's a production tool.... yet.

/imagine[