The world of artificial intelligence has made enormous progress in the field of image generation in recent years. Tools like Midjourney now make it possible for people without in-depth graphic design knowledge to create stunning visual content.
Today, I'm going to walk you through my process for using Midjourney to take an existing character - in our case, our ForwardFuture astronaut, Astro - and place them in different poses and scenarios. You'll learn how to use precise prompt formulations to change a character's posture, mood and dynamics while maintaining the basic character style. This technique is especially valuable for storytellers, content creators and anyone who needs consistent character portrayals across different scenes.
Setting Up Midjourney
Getting started with Midjourney is reasonably straightforward:
Join Discord: First, you'll need a Discord account. If you don't have one, head to discord.com and sign up.
Join the Midjourney Server: Go to midjourney.com and click the "Sign Up" button to access the Discord server.
Start a Trial or Subscribe: Midjourney offers a free trial, but you'll need a subscription for ongoing use. Check their website for the latest pricing.
Access the Bot: Once you're in the server and subscribed, go to any of the #newbies channels or start a direct message with the Midjourney Bot.
Your First Command: Type
/imaginefollowed by your prompt. For example:/imagine a comic-style astronaut
Key Concepts & Best Practices
Before we dive into character editing, let's cover some important terminology and techniques:
Aspect Ratio
Use
--arfollowed by your desired ratio (e.g.,--ar 1:1for square images)Common options: 1:1 (square), 16:9 (landscape), 9:16 (portrait)
For character work, I prefer 1:1 to keep the full figure in frame
Style Parameters
--styletags help maintain consistent visual aestheticsFor Midjourney v6.1, only
--style rawis compatible--style rawuses an alternative model that gives you more control over your imagesImages made with
--style rawhave less automatic beautification applied
Chaos Level
--cparameter controls randomness (1-100)Lower values (5-20) maintain consistency between generations
Higher values create more variation
For character work, I keep this low (around 5-10)
Image Quality
--qparameter controls rendering qualityValues range from 0.25 to 2
Higher values mean longer rendering but better details
For finished pieces, I use 1 or higher
Basics of Character Editing in Midjourney
When you want to maintain the style of your character with only the pose and setting changing, you need to use the following approach:
The Core Components:
Character Reference: Use the
--crefparameter followed by the URL of your original character (more on this below)Maximum Character Weight: Set
--cwto 100 for maximum consistencyMinimal Description: Keep your character description minimal and focus on pose and setting
Clear Pose Instructions: Be extremely specific about positioning
Simple Backgrounds: Start with simple backgrounds before attempting complex scenes
The exact formula for perfect character consistency:
/imagine prompt: astronaut [specific pose description], [setting description], minimal details beyond pose and setting --cref [your character image URL] --cw 100 --ar 1:1 --style raw --v 6.1
With --cw 100, Midjourney will maintain almost every detail of your character, including the exact outfit, colors, and design elements.
Prompt Examples: Astro in New Poses
For each example below, you'll need the URL of your original astronaut character image.
To get this URL:
Upload your initial character image to Discord
Right-click on the image and select "Copy Link"
Save this link for use in the prompts below
If you don't have an astronaut character yet, you can first create one with a prompt like:
/imagine comic-style astronaut character, friendly appearance, vibrant colors, simple white background, full body view --ar 1:1 --style raw --v 6.1
Then use the URL of that generated image in the following prompts by adding --cref [your URL].
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