How to Use ChatGPT as a Prompt Generator for Midjourney

Midjourney is a powerful AI art tool that allows users to create stunning images with just a few words. In fact, it's among one of the best ones. All you need to do is provide it with a description of the image you want it to generate, i.e., prompts. As a matter of fact, the prompt you provide is the only difference between creating a great image and a mind-blowing one.

However, coming up with good prompts can be daunting. But you don't have to do it alone; you can enlist ChatGPT's help. By using ChatGPT to generate prompts for Midjourney, you can create customized, actionable prompts that will help you get the most out of the app and inspire the creation of brand-new worlds, fantastical people, and original visuals. So, let's get started.

If you're new to Midjourney, you can also check out our guide on getting started with it.

How to Use Midjourney to Create AI Art

Unlock your inner artist with Midjourney

All Things HowSakshi Garg

Using ChatGPT for Midjourney Prompt Generation

There are different ways to go about creating Midjourney prompts with ChatGPT. The first is manually configuring ChatGPT to create prompts for the AI art generator app. The alternative includes using resources on the internet, such as "Midjourney Prompt Generator on GitHub," where you don't need to do the work manually. For your convenience, let's cover both.

1. Manually using ChatGPT for Prompt Generation

Before ChatGPT can create prompts for Midjourney, you'll need to prepare it for this task to get optimal results. Of course, you can ask it to simply create prompts for an AI art generator, but when ChatGPT creates specialized prompts only for Midjourney after some preparation, you'll get outputs that are on the next level.

Preparing ChatGPT

Since Midjourney was released in 2022 and ChatGPT only has limited knowledge of events and the world after 2021, it cannot generate prompts for the app right away, and initial training is a must. To prepare ChatGPT Manually, you need to feed it some information about what Midjourney is and how its prompts work.

So, for starters, you can provide ChatGPT with information about what Midjourney is and how it works. Here's how I did it. First, I gave it an idea about Midjourney as it had no knowledge of the concept. Without explaining the AI-art-generating app to ChatGPT, it said, "To my knowledge, "Midjourney" is not a commonly recognized term or concept, at least not in the English language."

You can explain Midjourney to ChatGPT in any terms. Here's an example:

Midjourney is a generative artificial intelligence program for generating images from natural language descriptions, called "prompts". It can also accept reference images as input. I am providing you this information because I want to create AI images using Midjourney and I'll be taking your help. Do you understand?

Next, I gave it more information about Midjourney Prompts by copying the information provided in the official resources here and here. Moreover, I even gave it information about Midjourney Prompt parameters by copying all the information given here and pasting it into ChatGPT. These are all official resources, and you can do the same.

Now, the next thing to do is give it some examples of Midjourney prompts. This lets ChatGPT know what kind of prompts you're looking for. You can find some great examples of prompts shared by the Midjourney community; the option to view complete prompts has now been restricted to subscribers only, though.  

Here is an example I shared with ChatGPT:

A breathtaking scene of a majestic Griffin, soaring gracefully above a misty mountain peak, surrounded by the enchanting presence of other mythical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, and phoenixes. The art style should evoke a sense of awe and wonder, blending elements from realism, impressionism, and dreamlike. Capture the essence of the creatures' mythical qualities through the use of watercolor painting or oil on canvas, taking inspiration from artists like Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Kinkade, and Ivan Aivazovsky, to create an unforgettable tableau that transports the viewer to a realm of fantasy and adventure.

Here's another example:

Create an image of an underwater scene featuring a vibrant coral reef with 15 different species of tropical fish swimming amidst the staghorn and elkhorn corals, as well as other marine life such as green sea turtles and jellyfish. The sun's rays should filter down through the water, casting a dappled light effect on the scene. This should be in the style of wildlife illustrations, with attention to detail in the representation of the clown fish, the pillar, and the overall ecosystem. The color palette should evoke a sense of tranquility and wonder while maintaining the natural beauty and intricacy of the underwater world.

The above prompts are good examples because they follow these tips to create amazing Midjourney prompts:

• Long-tail descriptions and being as specific as you can with your prompt. They tend to provide the best results as they are more specific than short-tail descriptions. For example, instead of saying "a cat," saying "a black cat with green eyes" will produce results closer to what you want.
• Lots of adjectives. Adjectives add detail to your prompt and help Midjourney to understand what you are looking for. For example, instead of saying "a landscape," say "a beautiful landscape with a waterfall in the foreground." The more descriptive the prompt, the better the result tends to be.
• Name of an Artist. Integrating the name of an artist into your prompt will use that artist's style as an influence for your generated image. For example, instead of saying "a portrait," say "a Salvador Dali-style portrait."

When creating prompts yourself, these are some great tips to keep in mind.

Here's another example of a prompt I shared with it that includes examples of parameters so ChatGPT has a well-rounded knowledge:

a diner against a vibrant California sunset with a vintage car parked in front --ar 16:9 --v 5 --no grass

ChatGPT even provided proof that it understands parameters with the following response.

Understood! This is a prompt for Midjourney to create an image of a diner with a vintage car parked in front of it, set against a vibrant California sunset. The aspect ratio is set to 16:9, the Midjourney model version is set to 5, and the parameter "--no grass" is used to exclude grass from the image.

Now that ChatGPT has enough information about Midjourney and its prompts, it is ready to help you.

Provide ChatGPT with a Concept

Once you have fed enough information to ChatGPT, you can ask it to create prompts for you. All you need to do is provide it with the concept for which you want it to create a descriptive prompt and watch it work its magic.

You can also ask it to indulge in some role prompting, but in my experience, ChatGPT gave great results even without it. If you don't know what role/ persona prompting is, it refers to the act of asking ChatGPT to play a certain role. We have discussed it in detail in our guide below.

How to Master ChatGPT Prompts

Become a ChatGPT wizard by mastering the prompts, and watch the magic unfold!

All Things HowSakshi Garg

Now, back to Midjourney prompts. For example, I asked ChatGPT this:

Now, I want you to create a prompt for a car driving in the Scottish mountains.

This is what it came up with:

"Create an image of a car driving on a winding mountain road in the Scottish Highlands, surrounded by lush green forests and towering mountain peaks in the background. The car should be a classic British sports car with a sleek design and a bright red color, reminiscent of a Jaguar E-Type. The scene should be set during a misty, foggy day, with the car's headlights illuminating the road ahead. The style should be inspired by vintage travel posters, with a bold and colorful palette that captures the rugged beauty and timeless appeal of Scotland's landscapes."

You can add parameters such as --ar to adjust the aspect ratio or --quality to adjust the rendering quality according to your preference.

I'd say it did a pretty good job. If you have any specific instructions for ChatGPT, you can include them in your initial request, and it will include them in the output. For example, if you have a car model, weather conditions, or anything else in mind, include them in the request. Otherwise, it does a rather good job of providing those details itself. You can always edit them later once you have a starting point.  

Here's another example:

Me: "I want you to create a prompt for a girl looking over a battle with a sword in her hand in a fantasy book"

ChatGPT: "Sure, here's a prompt:

"Create an illustration of a young girl standing on a cliff, overlooking a vast battlefield with a sword in her hand, ready for battle. The scene should be set in a high-fantasy world, with a medieval-inspired aesthetic. The girl should be wearing armor that is practical and functional for combat, but also displays her personal flair and style. The landscape should be mountainous and rugged, with dramatic clouds in the sky and hints of magic or otherworldly elements. The overall tone should be serious and intense, with a sense of impending danger and conflict. Use a color palette that is bold and striking, emphasizing the contrast between light and shadow. The art style should be highly detailed and polished, with influences from classic fantasy illustrators such as Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo."

As you can see, ChatGPT is consistently doing a great job of generating Midjourney Prompts. While I've only provided a couple of examples, I tested it a lot more, and the results were impressive.

You can use these prompts as it is or modify any details before feeding them to Midjourney. Don't forget to use the correct syntax of /imagine prompt before sending your request to the Midjourney bot in the Discord server.

2. Using Midjourney Prompt Generator on GitHub

Midjourney has a massive community of users around it. And the great thing about this community is that they help others get the most out of the app. One such example is the Midjourney Prompt Generator project on GitHub, which will configure ChatGPT for you. Granted, the configuration is a bit rigid (you'll see what I mean), but you'll get results in no time.

Go to this GitHub page for the tool. Then, click the 'midjourney-prompt-generator-prompt-for-chatgpt' file.

Its contents will open. Click the 'Copy raw contents' button in the top-right corner of the editor showing the file contents.

Then, go to chat.openai.com, sign in to your account, and start a new chat. In the chat, paste the contents you previously copied and hit 'Send'.

ChatGPT will enter the Midjourney Prompt Generator Mode, where it will be limited to predefined commands.

While ChatGPT is in this limited framework, you can only use these commands:

• [Start MPGM]: This command starts the Midjourney prompt generator. You can use it to initiate MPGM or start it again after it has been terminated via the End command.
• [prompt]: This command starts a new generation session and describes the image for which the user wants ChatGPT to generate a Midjourney prompt.
• [pX]: After generating three prompts based on the input provided using the prompt command, you can select which prompt you want to use for Midjourney by using the [pX] command, where X is the number of the selected prompt.
• [next]: Generate a new set of 3 prompts based on the last prompt provided.
• [good]: You can provide feedback on the generated prompt and indicate what was good with it using this command.
• [bad]: You can use this command to provide negative feedback for the generated prompt.
• [change]: If you want to make changes to the image that Midjourney generated using the prompt you entered, you can use this command to describe the changes you want to make, and ChatGPT will generate a new prompt.
• [End MPGM]: This command terminates the Midjourney Prompt Generator Mode, and ChatGPT will no longer be restricted to the predefined framework. Using this command is the only way to get out of this mode.

Using MPGM

You can only use MPGM in the same chat where you previously copy-pasted the above file. But while MPGM is initiated, you cannot use ChatGPT normally in other chats either.

To start MPGM, type the [Start MPGM] command in the chatbox and send it.

Then, type [prompt] followed by what you want ChatGPT to provide a prompt for. For example, we entered [prompt] photo of a castle by a beach town. Click 'Send'. ChatGPT will then return three scenarios for you to choose from.

Select the scenario you like the most by using the [pX] command where you need to replace X with the number of the prompt you like. For example, to choose the third prompt, send the command [p3].

ChatGPT will then produce a prompt for the chosen scenario that you can enter in Midjourney.

If you didn't like any of the scenarios, use the [next] command to generate a set of 3 new scenarios.  

If you wish to make changes to the generated prompt, use the [change] command, followed by a description of the changes.

To get out of the limited framework, send the [End MPGM] command.

Bonus Mention - Midjourney Prompt Library

As mentioned before, there is a huge community of Midjourney users who share resources online. One such resource is a vast repository of Midjourney prompts created using ChatGPT that you can use yourself.

This prompt library has thousands of prompts that you can fill with your own values and then copy to run in Midjourney. If you don't even want to enter your own values, the prompts also have a list of example values you can enter.

There are prompts for a gamut of categories, such as animals, food, games, fantasy, clothes & fashion, drawing, etc.

All you need to do is click the 'Run' button under the prompt.

Then, enter the values and click the 'Copy Prompt' option.

You can then paste the copied prompt in Midjourney.

Not only that, but the author has also provided access to images created using these prompts that you can download.

Still, if you use the same prompt in Midjourney, you can get different results since that's the thing about this app. Where AI bots like ChatGPT and Bard give similar (sometimes exact) results for the same prompts, Midjourney always generates something new!

That's all there is. You can now create stunning images using Midjourney by entering the prompts you create using ChatGPT instead of melting your mind coming up for them.