Patreon Community (free & paid tiers) ➡www.patreon.com/Woollyfern Midjourney Guides ➡ woollyfern.gumroad.com many are free and paid ones are included with some Patreon tiers What is your favorite Character Reference workflow? How are you getting your best results?
Thanks so much for this. An absolute novice using midjourney for the first time and I have a fictional sports game with hundreds of individual characters that I want to visualise.
Simple videos but very informative, can you make a long video in story telling tutorials with voice over and lip sync? You are the best out there yet and you deserve more followers!
You should be able to right click on your image and select Copy Link (on Desktop app). It will be a really long link. MJ will shorten it after you submit your prompt. Also make sure you have a space between --cref and your link.
@@woollyferncreative as mine is only coming up as copy message link or copy media link I don’t have any other alternative. As I’m using my iPad, do you think that this could be the reason?
Hi Woollyfern! I've been spending entire afternoons watching your videos and I absolutely love the quality of the content, especially the impeccable pacing. Wonderful lessons! I have a question for you: are you monetizing your images in any way? I'm asking because I would love to become a MidJourney Master (I've been an art director for 34 years and a generative AI enthusiast), but I still can't envision a business model where I can turn this into money. Thank you for sharing such a value content! 👌
Thanks for the support! I am not monetizing my images at the moment, but have looked into using images for print-on-demand products in the past. There are pros and cons to the process, but I think that's the direction a lot of people choose to go for monetizing AI images.
Great video, clear as always and very encouraging! So you weren't having the distorted features problem? Your photo-realistic characters all look super consistent. (Mine have NOT. 😄)
Thanks so much! I still notice some distortion in the results that I got 🙂. Slightly thinner or rounder faces, bigger nose, hair not as thick or curly, etc. Some characters definitely worked better than others though. I notice the most significant distortion when using external non-midjourney images.
There should be an option that reduces the probability that the character is looking directly at the camera. E.g. --clook [0 - 100], where clook is camera look. I know there could be way better combination of words than "camera look", but just an example. Couldn't think of anything lol. I know there are ways to get them to look at other objects, it's just way inconsistent and you slam through GPU hours trying to get to the image you want.
Yeah, I haven't done a thorough experiment to see which words or phrases give the most consistent correct/expected results. I run most of my jobs in relax mode, otherwise I'd burn through my hours in a few days or less 😆.
Yeah, unfortunately the Character Reference feature doesn't do well with externally uploaded images (I'm assuming that's what you're doing from how you worded it). I tried uploading a selfie and what I got didn't resemble me at all 😆. Cref works best with images made by Midjourney.
@@woollyferncreativeI have the same problem with an older woman that I created in midjourney, every time I try to recreate her older. I probably wasted about $30 working on one picture so far. 😢
@@woollyferncreative yes i did upload a selfie with clear bg, busy bg,white bg, black… 😅 I took selfie with my laptop,mobile,… The funny thing is ALL the photos generated is same person no matter what prompt i use !! But Its not me for sure I even generated a model then tried to edit the face Guess what? It gave me same person! (Not me!)
@@Kelvinapplegateexperience is not a waste . Once u get it you will progress with greater knowledge. 30 60 90 all cheap for what you’ll learn & earn . Blessings!
this is great---What I am struggling with, and perhaps you've covered this, is that ability to have characters doing specific actions. I am creating a video made up of images + narration and I'm struggling to get my characters to do specific actions. Seems like they are always just posing. I know I need to do a deep dive into mixing (1) images as prompts and (2) describe and play with image weights. But perhaps you have some best practices you recommend. Thanks!
Amazing tutorial. Can you provide guidance on how to maintain a consistent character when using photos (family portrait)? I've tried uploading single/ multiple pictures to create some artwork, but the --cref option isn't accurate with photographs.
Yes, --cref works best with images that were created by Midjourney. With some effort though, you might be able to get a Midjourney AI version of each person you upload. Use /describe on the uploaded image to see how Midjourney describes the image of the person. Then, use your uploaded image as an image reference (URL at the front of the prompt), followed by a Midjourney-inspired description of the person. With this approach you might be able to create an image that will give more successful results when it is then used as a --cref. No guarantees, but it's one way you can try to improve your --cref results when using an image of a real person.
I'm illustrating a charity book written by a young girl with brain cancer, where the characters are animals. The challenge is creating consistent AI-generated characters (using MidJourney), but when combining them (even with vary-region), the animals blend into each other. This makes it hard to depict 3-5 characters in one image. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Unfortunately cref doesn't work very well with non-human characters. It can create similar ones if the cref for the animal has a distinct "face" with two eyes. It looks for the t-shape created by 2 eyes and a nose. Hopefully cref will do better with non-human characters once V7 is released in the next couple months!
would be cool, if this would work :D trying to "imagine" using my own picture and in results appears different man, all the time, same but not my face :D
Yea, unfortunately it doesn't work well with external images yet. But I've noticed that it's usually consistently inconsistent with external images :-). Cref works best with images created by Midjourney. You could always try creating a Midjourney version of yourself with a combination of using /describe on your image and then running several image+text prompts.
This is a great tutorial. Thank you so much. I’m struggling with the pan function, when I pan left or right and try to input the information to add a person with a cref, it pans, but there is no new person in the shot…any tips?
Sounds like you are following the right approach. Try adding --chaos 15 to the end of your prompt when you are panning. This will force Midjourney to make the results in an image grid more different from one another. Sometimes this helps get it out of a rut, if it's not doing what you want. The chaos parameter takes values 0 to 100.
@@woollyferncreative I’ve managed to get a second person when I pan. Thank you so much! I’m now trying to pan to the other side to add a third person with cref, but the scene stays empty, do you know if its possible to use this function to add a third?
In theory, adding a third person should be doable by panning in the other direction. I haven't tried putting more than 2 crefs in a scene yet. Hopefully you can get it to work!
great video, well explained. I'm creating a story in video format using images and I'm struggling a bit getting my characters to do specific actions. I'm able to use text prompts + an image reference that shows the action but I lose all the stylistic consistency for the story. Even when using SW of 1000. Any ideas? I realize this might be too much to ask of MJ at this point...maybe version 10? ;-)
@BigBrainBlitz if you are losing stylistic consistency, try using some of the images that do have the style you want as Style References with the --sref parameter. Showing specific poses and actions is a lot of trial and error, unfortunately. Hopefully, they will come out with a better way to do pose references someday.
@@woollyferncreative Yes--I used a reference image with the style and even pumped up the SW to 1000. It just refuses to pick up the style. Also played with image weight. Even at 0 it favors the position over the style--it really feels I have to choose the pose I want OR the style I want....maybe in version 10? ;-).
Great video. I tried this but the output was a character that had similar features but looked nothing like the uploaded character references. I set the --cw parameter set to 100. Where am i going wrong?
Thanks! Are you using an image that was created by Midjourney as your character reference? Midjourney prefers using character reference images that were created by Midjourney. That said, the character reference feature cannot exactly replicate your input character. It will mimic it as best as it can, but it will not be exact. Setting --cw to 100 tells Midjourney to try to keep the same clothing and hair. Setting --cw to 0 gives Midjourney freedom to change those things while still keeping a similar character.
@@woollyferncreativeno I'm using one of my own headshots as character references. Glibatree and other RU-vidrs did it in their tutorials and seem to be able to get great results. Generated images look just like the headshots they uploaded. So it must be possible. Unfortunately myself and others can't seem to achieve it
Yea, I've tried it with my own image as a cref and have not had any luck getting a character with close enough resemblance. One suggestion I like to make it to try to create a Midjourney version of yourself to use as a Character Reference. Use results from /describe together with an image prompt to try to get a Midjourney version of yourself. Then use that as a Character Reference. This can sometimes be a helpful workaround. Best of luck!
Thank you for a brilliant tutorial about using cref. - as well as your other videos. Something you didn’t mention, and is something I’ve also addressed directly with midjourney, is an issue when using cref and wanting a full body imagine. I have tried various prompts over various hours to no avail. The images midjourney produces distort the body proportion or they only show 3/4 of the body in the result. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you again.
Yeah, including "full-body" in a prompt doesn't always work. My first tip would be to full describe the outfit and include the shoes. This will try to force Midjourney to make a full-body image. I'll try to address things like camera angles and portrait vs full-body images in a future video.
Yes, you can upload an external photo in Discord or on Midjourney's website and then use the link to the image as your --cref. You might not get an exact replica of your uploaded character, but should be able to get something similar. There's a short section of this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RYcGacwrnPA.html that shows you how to upload to the website. For Discord, just drag and drop your image into a Discord channel, right click on the image, and copy link.
Things to try: 1) Use an image as an image reference by including the image URL at the beginning of the prompt, followed by a space, and then your prompt text. This is different from --sref because you are not using the image URL with a parameter, it just gets added to the beginning of the prompt. 2) Alternatively, you can create the image of your scene and then use Vary(Region)/inpainting to select the area you want to change. For example, you could create an image of a park, select an area with Vary(Region) and add a character by changing the prompt text within the Vary(Region) window. Hope some of that helps!
ON DISCORD, how can I get the URL of an image created ON DISCORD? It constantly give me this message: "Image denied Request cancelled due to image filters". An it works it does not recreate the same character.
To get the URL of an image you created with Midjourney on Discord or one you have uploaded to a Discord channel, you can right click the image and select "Copy Link". Then you can use that link to your image in a prompt. Sometimes the image filters can be overly sensitive, and unfortunately the only way around it is to try a different image. Re: results not looking like the CREF - if you are using a non-Midjourney image (ex. a photo of yourself) as a Character Reference, it does not work as well. It's best if your CREF image was created by Midjourney. Hope some of that helps!
@@woollyferncreative Thank you very much, it turns out that when you want to copy the URL for the image, it should be copy from the image as it is on the chat (once is uploaded), because if you chose the option "open on the web" or if you make the image bigger by tipping on it and then copy the ULR it struggles to get the info. In addition to the fact that you get more accurate results IF first you create a value for that image through the "/prefer option set" function. Thanks again!
@@amitnatty4923 here you go :-) Prompt: 35mm color photo of a barista standing outside of a coffee shop. she is talking with a male friend. --ar 3:2 --sref s.mj.run/pTBMUHtyJzY s.mj.run/otfzIs9AMR0 --cref s.mj.run/uckGT-_rmcw
Your video is very helpful; however, even though I have uploaded many images of my face from different angles, the generated image still doesn't resemble my face-I'm Asian, and the resemblance is only about 40-50%. After using face swap, it only improved to around 70%. I hope you can help me, or create a step-by-step tutorial on how to generate a face that looks exactly like mine, or find some way to contact you directly.
Unfortunately, --cref doesn't work well with character references that were not created by Midjourney. So it's a difficult task to try to use your own images as crefs with accuracy. You can first try to create a Midjourney version of yourself using your selfie as an image reference. Once you have a Midjourney version of yourself, use that as a Character Reference. Possible workflow: 1) run /describe on your selfie to see how Midjourney describes you, 2) submit a prompt using your selfie image URL followed by text using your /describe results for ideas (place URL at beginning of the prompt), 3) get a suitable Midjourney-created version of yourself from step 2 and then use THAT as a Character Reference. It won't be perfect and it's a tedious process, but should give you a better chance at creating a suitable Character Reference of yourself. Hopefully that's not too confusing. Best of luck!
@woollyfern how did you get the option to change the text when panning right?? I've clicked it and it just generates.. no option to type in new info. Also I've held the button for a couple seconds, nothing. 🥺🤷🏽♂️
You got it! Yep, you can also check your default settings anytime by typing /settings in Discord. Enabling Remix Mode allows you to change text input when you pan 👍
Now the issue I'm having is that, after typing in new info and adding the cref of the second character, I get nothing. Just the initial character on one side and the newly panned side is just a continuation of the scene 😮💨
It can be tricky sometimes. Try adding --chaos 15. Chaos values go from 0 to 100. Sometimes Midjourney needs a little push getting out of a rut when it's not doing what you want and adding chaos can help.
After several attempts (like 50)... I discovered that adding the words "standing next to her/his friend" and then pressing "pan" finally created the second person
hi I really have an important question, whenever I create a male character they always turned out to have wrinkle lines on forehead how to make midjourney understand not to give that line? I just can't seem to figure it, you never have that problem as I saw your video, would you please help me out, thanks
Can you give an example prompt? What types of age-related words are you trying to use? Alternatively, you can try to use Midjourney's inpainting feature called Vary (Region) to select the forehead area and it will redo it.
@@woollyferncreative oh I didn't know inpainting vary could do that, will check it out .I use the prompt like like this "a cinematic still of a man in his 30s is sitting in a coffee shop wearing black coat and pant with blue tie, coffee and laptop on the table, shot on blackmagic ursa mini pro, muted color grade." That's just one eg. But even if I make a person in his 20s, same with forehead lines. I would love to know if you face that issue from your end after trying my prompt. Thanks for the reply really appreciate 🙏
I tried your prompt. I do see that in some of the results, but for most of them it looks natural. I would try out the vary (region) tool or try using different words to give him a more youthful appearance. Sometimes MJ can exaggerate some descriptors such as age.
You can paste in a URL to any image you want to use as a --cref. If you want to use a character you've created with Midjourney (recommended), open the image on Midjourney's website and click the 3 lines in the upper right. A menu will pop up and you can click Copy, then click Image URL. Then paste that image URL after the --cref parameter in your prompt. Make sure there's a space after --cref. Hope that helps!
Just 2 mins into the video and i subscribed. Best tut ever. no fuss no drama. Pure content. Love your way of teaching. Thanks for the amazing content. 💗
thanks for the amazing tutorial but I tried so much and the character dont look the same with cref, I dont know why, Ive tried cref, characterweight but I dont know what Im doing wrong
I’m 4 minutes in and it’s already better than every other Midjourney tutorial. Straight to the point and MULTIPLE references. This video is good for beginners but PERFECT for people like me who just needed a refresher and a cref tutorial. W video 🏆
Question: How do I control --cw while adding the reference through upload feature in the beta website? If I try to add --cw it would tell me "Can't use cw without cref"
On the website, after you give it your character reference image, make sure the little person icon is selected when you hover over your character reference image. The error you are getting sounds like Midjourney doesn't see that you've added a character reference. I share an example of the web usage in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Kyr-nWtp1z8.html
@@woollyferncreative Thanks ! From what I found it's 5 files !! 😲 But are you talking about individual files, or character sheets with many poses on one file ?
I was just able to run a prompt using 7 SREF image URLs and 7 CREF image URLs on both Discord and the website. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the question? Prompt format example: your test prompt --sref imgURL1 imgURL2 imgURL3 imgURL4 imgURL5 imgURL6 imgURL7
What's the error? Make sure there are no spaces between either of the dashes and the cw. There should only be a space between --cw and 0. So like this: your prompt text --cref myURL.jpg --cw 0
@@woollyferncreative I commented before I realized I could hover mouse over the inscription to read the expansion :D I had to use picture as cref to use sw in prompt. It doesn't do well with my pictures. I want to try with illustration now.
For some reason the cref parameter isn't respecting my character's age. I placed the picture of a young woman as a character reference, which was made in MJ, yet for some reason it keeps de-ageing her to that of a preteen, even younger. It's not respecting the bone structure or maturity of the face at all. I even specified in the prompt that the photo is of "a woman". She looks eight or nine at most, down from perhaps twenty. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Ugh, that can be frustrating. Do you have any other images of that character that you can try? If not, try making some Variations of your original image and use those. Sometimes including multiple image URLs with --cref can help. I'm not sure how old the woman in your character reference looks, but maybe try including "college-aged woman". Or if Midjourney is really intent on significant de-ageing, perhaps "middle-aged woman" could result in a young woman 😄.
What I think is really needed in the community is 1) style consistency - we have that. 2) character consistently - we have that. And 3) picture to pose, which….I feel like I keep struggling to find a good tutorial on that for Midjourney. Without camera angles, without perspective and capacity to form the angles of each image, we can really generate proper compositions that are designed by us, the creator. Do you think, if such a thing exists, you could combine these three things into a tutorial? Because I feel like that is the missing link from Ai creator to finished creation. What MOST of us want from Ai is the illustration craft capabilities. But as creators we want to be explicitly involved in the creative process. If we can use pictures of posed models, toys, even ourselves that we can then upload into Midjourney and then apply that style consistency and character consistency, we will have arrived at the new era we’re all searching for.
Agreed! And I think we're heading that direction quickly. Midjourney will likely be entering the 3D space this year and with that should come the ability to better control camera angles. If I come across a more consistent way to get specific character poses, I'll definitely put that into a tutorial.
when i use the vary rigion,it doean't allow me to use cref ,I want to replace one of the two characters,so need to use vary region and put cref URL,but can't add the uil on,I don;t know why ,I used to use this function but now it stopped,anyone else here met such problem?
@lucy-917 double check the spaces and formatting in your prompt when you have the vary region window open. For example: my prompt text here --cref imageURL Needs a space before the two dashes. No space between the dashes and cref. A single space after cref before the image URL.
@@woollyferncreative thanks very much,yes you are right,i just did as you said ,but it didn't work,I wonder if there are other restrict?i want to make a screen shot to you but can't add here,thanks anyway
