What I Wish I Knew When I Started Using MidJourney (Patreon)

Hi there! I hope your week has been treating you kindly! ☀️

So, let me take you back to September 2022 — that’s when I first dipped my toes into the world of AI image generation with Midjourney. The spark? An article I stumbled across about Jason M. Allen, who shook things up by winning the Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Competition with his AI-generated piece, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial.”

As someone with a B.A. in Art and a deep love for creative expression, I was instantly intrigued. A tool that could help me create in whole new ways? Yes, please! Ironically, my first ever prompt was super simple and direct — a far cry from the elaborate, multi-line prompts needed to generate a decent image back in 2022–2023, but the ideal way to write them now.

Here are the first images I ever generated:

And here’s the prompt for it: dark hair woman fantasy steam punk city landscape cliff edge metal structures

These are images generated with the most recent Midjourney version 7 using the same prompt:

My first prompt was super basic — I had no idea what I was doing! Back then (and for quite a while), getting better results meant diving headfirst into complex, layered prompts just to get something usable.

Here’s an example of a prompt I wrote a few years ago to get a decent AI image: cinematic still, large detailed eyes, cheerful expression, full body view, adorable cosmic punk bunny cat hybrid in a blue and green alien landscape, detailed photograph, photorealistic, professional color grading, dynamic lighting

And the images generated with that prompt:

And here’s all you need now to create something similar, but obviously better: photography, cinematic still, large eyes, adorable cosmic punk bunny cat hybrid at a futuristic museum,

Now, nearly three years later (how is that possible?!), here are 10 things I wish someone had told me when I first started creating AI images:

🎨 1. Free credits exist!
 Yup — back then, I had no clue you could generate images for free on platforms like NightCafe using credits.

🔁 2. Prompts aren’t one-size-fits-all.
 Switching from one platform to another? You will need to tweak your prompts. What sings in Midjourney might fall flat in NightCafe.

💸 3. Pricing is… wild.
 AI art platforms are like subscription bingo. I wish I had done a bit more digging to find the best fit before swiping the card.

📝 4. Prompt wisdom is gold.
 There’s no shame in learning from others — watching tutorials or reading prompt breakdowns early on would’ve saved me so much time.

🎤 5. Midjourney office hours = hidden gem.
 They host them on Discord every Wednesday, and honestly, I wish I had tuned in from the beginning. Super insightful!

🌈 6. Get weird with it.
 Throw in emojis. Toss in random words. Experiment more. Creativity lives on the edge of chaos!

✨ 7. srefs are magic.
 Once I started using --sref (style reference), I was hooked. It's wild how much it can elevate your results.

📐 8. Aspect ratio matters. A LOT.
 A simple shift in ratio can completely transform your image’s look and feel. It’s like changing the lens on a camera.

🚀 9. This field blew up.
 When I started, this world was still pretty niche. Now? AI-generated art is everywhere, and it’s only growing.

🧠 10. It’s been good for my mental health.
Creating digital art, building characters, telling visual stories — this journey has been a real source of joy and healing.

I hope you found this post helpful! Thanks for reading and as always happy AI image generating!