Over the weeks and months I’ve been exploring generative art in Midjourney I’ve been building lists of elements which can be added to prompts to generate interesting effects. My favourite way to experiment with them is to use a short prompt, sometimes just a single word.
My Prompt A Day list provides me with a new word everyday so that is one way to choose the word to use. Monday’s word this week was “moonlit”. Around the same time I found some new style terms to try out. Many of them related to illustrations. Some of the terms looked like they could be fun.
I did a base image with just the word ‘moonlit’ and an aspect ratio. Then I used the seed from that set to do the others. There was some similarity to the base with some of the styles and others just did their own thing. The header image on this post was the base image.
OH, to get the seed number for a set of images use the :envelope: emoji. Once you enter it manually once you should find it in your emojis easily after that. When you add the envelope emoji to an image Midjourney will respond in DM giving you the prompt, the job id and the seed number. To use the number add —seed ## or —s ## to your prompt.
Editorial Illustration
- Typically used with written content in both print and online media. They help to illustrate the accompanying text.
Doodle
- doodling is generally engaged in when someone is bored or just letting their mind flow. Usually simple, basic shapes are used to build into what can become a more complex image. MJ generates some interesting takes on this style.
Lithograph
- Originating in 1796 lithographs were a cheap way of publishing theatrical works. They were drawn with grease-based medium then washed with water. When it was inked the ink would stick to the grease and not where the water was.
Line Art
- Line art is a style of drawing using distinct straight or curved lines on a usually plain background. It doesn’t typically use shading. It’s usually a monochrome medium although adding colour to it in generative art creates some interesting effects.
Victorian Illustration
- Created during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), Victorian Illustration is known for detailed and intricate style and was often used in story books.
Linocut Print
- linocut print is a type of relief print made from a sheet of linoleum. The artist carves a design into the linoleum surface, inks the remaining raised areas, and presses it onto paper or fabric. The result is a bold and expressive image, often characterized by strong lines and contrast. This is another medium I’ve used the power of AI to add colour to with interesting effect.
Illuminated Manuscript
- originating in the Middle Ages illuminated manuscript is a hand-written book decorated with gold, silver or brilliant colours with elaborate designs.
Medieval Illumination
- very much like Illuminated Manuscript this comes from the Middle Ages and refers to ornate designs with gold or silver accents. They were often found in religious texts to enhance their symbolic meanings.
Illuminati
- The Illuminati were a secret society in Bavaria in the late 18th century opposed to religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. They are often associated with conspiracy theories. In Midjourney, using the word as a style gets some interesting effects. Adding the word ‘vibrant’ gets even more interesting.
Art Brut
- Art Brut is a French term meaning ‘raw art’ to describe art created outside of official boundaries. Sort of like generative art. It often refers to self-taught artists who are not influenced by mainstream art trends.
Torn Paper Collage
- The artist tears pieces of paper and glues them onto a surface to create an image. Depending on the paper and the style of the artist, the result can be varied in texture, style and colour. The style alone came out rather muted so I added color as well
Barcode
- commonly seen on your packages at the store, barcodes are a method of representing data in a visual machine-readable form. Using it as a style name in MJ creates some interesting effects. Add ‘neon’ to the style and it gets even more interesting.
Neuron
- think of the neuron paths in the brain on this one. This is another word like ‘punk’ or ‘core’ that you can add any number of words to for some interesting effects. In this I used neuron on its own and then added vibrant to it.
Neuron Streetscape
Neuron Streetscape Neon
Neuron Flowers
Neuron Robot
Synthography
- is an emerging term for the combining of styles and words to generate images. Which is what I’ve been doing in this post. For fun, I tried it out as a style to see what it would generate and added vibrant as well.
Well that was fun. I love the diversity of effects I can get in generative art. It takes time and practice to sort out what ones to use on an image. I try to avoid defaulting to a set few when I can try so many.
Be adventurous and have fun.
Shadowspub writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc. Her Nicheless Narrative podcast airs on Thursdays each week.
NOTE: unless otherwise stated, all images are the author’s.
Some of the image work may have been done in Midjourney for which I hold a licence to use the imges commercially.
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