How to happily hoard aesthetic styles like a hamster even if they don't want to tell you the Prompts or Sref codes

Celebrating the hoarding culture of Midjourney fans

If you’re just starting out with Midjourney, it’s easy to get awed by the beautiful images shared by the community and thousands of things you could collect on the internet to start making those nice pictures.

You maybe always on the hunt for the next coolest prompts, awesome Style References (Sref ) codes, intriguing Personalization (P) codes or maybe some style-related keywords that could enhance the aesthetic of your creations.

But let me tell you this - hoarding things are not just for beginners. It’s a culture of the Midjourney community!

We collect all sorts of things, not forgetting tutorials and articles that are helpful (eh…hem… like this one from Geeky Animals) and tons of other things that we think could be useful when we are in the mood of creating some nice images.

Then…

Where’s that nice Sref code when you want to create an image of a good looking hamster? How about the artistic prompt to create an image of a lady enjoying tea painted in watercolor?

It is all over the place. Looking at the piles of the precious stuffs that you have diligently collected, yet when you need anything special, you can't find it.

So what are you going to do? Just Google and find some random codes and call it a day as long as the job is done? But if so, where’s the fun in using Midjourney?

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It’s easy to create nice images with Midjourney

Today I want to share with you how to be “always ready” to create some cool images, regardless of whether you can find that precious Sref code you had hidden in one of the sub-sub-sub folders in your computer.

Let’s assume there are two scenarios here:

(a) You found a nice image from the Midjourney gallery and you want to create similar image. You have access to that image file and its prompt.

(b) You run a Google search and discover a stunning image whose style you want to emulate. However, you do not know the prompt, Sref code, or how the image was created. Suppose the image was created in Midjourney and posted on X/Twitter, but the creator did not share the Sref code used to generate it.

I will show you how to tackle the above without writing any prompt or Midjourney parameters. Except just one sentence in English.

There is no need to use Discord either.

We will do everything on the Midjourney website.

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Scenario A: You found a nice image from the Midjourney gallery and you want to create similar image

Assume you want to make an image of a lady having a cup of tea in the garden.

Here are the steps for finding and copying creative styles from the Midjourney community:

1. Visit the Midjourney Image Gallery at https://www.midjourney.com/explore?tab=random.

2. In the Search bar, enter a basic idea of the image style you wish to generate.

3. Click on the image to enlarge it. Then, click the three buttons at the bottom, directly next to the "Use" label. The buttons are labeled Image, Style, and Prompt. (Or, just use the Style button).

4. Enter a brief description of the image's main subject, then hit Enter.

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Searching for style inspirations is simple and helpful. But the users often overlook it.

Let's say you type "fashion" into the search bar and found this illustration whose style you want to copy.

https://www.midjourney.com/jobs/313224f4-7187-44b0-a15a-efde465aeb91

An image found in the Midjourney community image gallery.

Click on these little buttons (they are so useful, yet so small!)

The three ways to copy the style of the selected image.

Type in the following in the prompt window at the top

a lady enjoying a cup of tea in the flower garden

You will get three different kinds of results.

Results of image, style, and prompt referencing.

Image: The bot uses the selected image as a guide to generate new images while following your prompt. They look a lot like the source/ original image.

Style: The bot will only copy the style of the source image while following your prompt. It is more flexible and adaptable if your change your main subject later.

Prompt: The bot will ignore the source picture and make a new image based on your prompt.

The final result.

See the result. Not bad huh? From cluelessness to finishing the job in minutes.

Now I want to share a bonus content with you - removing the source image from the prompt before we go to Scenario B.