How To Create Consistent Characters in Midjourney?
Have you struggled to generate multiple images of the same character in Midjourney? You are not alone. Maintaining character consistency in midjourney is always difficult for the artist. Midjourney users always wanted to see their characters in any look. The good news is that Midjourney has introduced the latest powerful character reference feature in the newest model, v6.
Instead of using the midjourney seed numbers , reference images, and other ways, it’s better to use the character reference feature for this purpose. In this article, we will guide how to create consistent characters in midjourney?
How Midjourney Character Reference Works?
A Character reference is a recent addition to midjourney that generates a similar character by providing reference photos. It is represented by –cref. This feature works on both human and nonhuman characters, etc. It mainly focuses on the character’s appearance, face, hair, and clothes.
However, it doesn’t exactly copy the exact appearance but rather introduces slight changes. It just captures the character’s looks, not their artistic style. The character reference function works well with both Midjourney-generated characters and images from other AI tools, but it generally produces better results with Midjourney-generated images.
Character weight( – cw):
A character’s weight setting determines how similar the character looks to the original character– it is represented by –cw which is actually the strength of a reference photo. This value, ranging from 0 to 100, determines the strength of the reference’s influence on the generated image’s face, clothing, and overall style. We test the image at different levels of text weight, starting at high and going down to low, in order to achieve the same level as the reference image. The parameter is added after the image’s url.
Your prompt + “–cref” + reference image URL + “–cw” (weight value)
Take a look at how character weights behave at different values.
Cw 100 is the default value and gives character strong resemblance to base image.
Cw 0 changes their character outfits and hairstyles while keeping the facial features the same. This allows for more creativity.
Cw 50, it gives half-way results. It gains 50% influence from reference and 50% from prompt.
At lower weight values, character reference produces subtle variations. At higher values, the character produces results similar to the reference image.
Steps To Create Consistent Characters in Midjourney?
In order to use character references, we use the Discord app. The following are the steps to create consistent characters. Follow these from beginning to end to easily create the same character every time.
Choose a base image
The first step is to choose any base image. There are two options:
Use external image: Use the high resolution image of a character that clearly shows character features.
Generate from the Midjourney : Use Midjourney to generate a base image for your character by providing a detailed prompt describing their physical appearance , style and expression.
For this guide, we’ll focus on generating a character image with Midjourney.
Here’s an example prompt:
A beautiful Italian business woman with freckles, long black hair, and a kind expression. She’s wearing a professional white dress and posed for a close-up portrait in a well-lit office setting –ar 16:9
Here is the output image from this prompt.
Copy image link
Now, copy the image address of your base image. We’ll use this address later for generations. Then, right-click on the image and copy the address.
Transform Your Character with Reference Image (–cref)
Type the imagine command by forward slash in the discord prompt box. Now, Write the image prompt of the reference photo by /imagine command in the midjourney discord server. We will describe the character’s new scene, including their style, clothing, and location.
A woman is walking in Egyptian dress in a desert
Now add a double dash cref at the end of the prompt. Press the space and paste the copied URL of the reference photo. You can also add the aspect ratio at the end of the URL of the reference photo. The format of the prompt is this way.
Description of the new scene –cref {url of reference image} –ar 16:9
Here are the images with consistent characters.
Changing character weight
How much consistency we want in a character use the command cw .To modify the outfit and clothing, simply re-enter your prompt and add –cw hit the generate button. while adjusting the character weight value from 0 to 100. If you do not select any value, it always remains 100. As you increase the weight, observe how closely the generated character resembles the original base image.
Prompt + [–cref URL] + [–cw value]
Here are the images with character weight with values 0 , 10 , 50 and 80.
Mixing character and style (optional)
Now, let’s combine both style and character references. This lets you create your character in a specific artistic style. Style reference allows you to transfer style into any image.
Suppose we add the Pyramids of Egypt to this photo. We can pick an image of the pyramids and add it using –sref with the –cref
Again type your prompt in the imagine command and add –sref at the end.
Prompt + [–cref Image URL1] (more refs + URL2…) + [–sref Style Image URL]
Save your image
If you are satisfied with your result , then upscale your images and save it on your computer.
Tips to get better consistent character
A few recommendations are listed below to assist you in getting the most out of your character look.
Choose right reference image
Choose your base image wisely when planning a consistent character. You should choose a high-resolution, photorealistic image of the character. Your reference image should contain only one person. The face, eyes, and hair of the person should be clearly visible, and a portrait shot is ideal.
If it is not a close-up, crop their face and surrounding areas using Photoshop. The surroundings should be uncomplicated, but a plain background isn’t necessarily required. The distinct features of your image should be simple and visible. The face, hair, and clothes should be clearly visible.
Keep Prompts Simple
When you write the prompt to display your character in different scenes it is not necessary to mention again the person in the prompt . midjourney understand and place your character according to your prompt.You should list down your prompts for different scenes in a separate sheet for this character. Make sure your prompt is written simple, not complex. Character reference will work best on simple prompts rather than lengthy prompts.
Fix Broken Images
If the output image looks broken, you can test the image again and again on low or high stylized values.
Keep same style value
If you set the style value 100 to generate the character the same, then use the same style value 100 for other generations.
Conclusion
Character consistency has long been a hurdle in Midjourney, but the character reference feature has helped overcome this challenge. This feature opens up a wide range of possibilities, making it particularly useful for creating influencer models to promote fashion brands.