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Oct. 3: MidJourney 301: Vector Graphics and More

Oct. 3, 2023

Mike Reilley

Oct 3, 2023

I’ve written a couple of newsletters last year on how to use MidJourney. The tool has made some improvements over the last several months and offers more features. This newsletter will explore some of them.

We’re eagerly awaiting the release of MidJourney, v6, which is expected to feature some of the prompt-writing assistance that the new DALL-E , released last month in ChatGPT Plus, now features. Stay tuned!

One of the things I’ve used MidJourney for lately is to design big tech-style vector graphics for JournalistsToolbox.ai and some training handouts. The results have been impressive.

Image by Mike Reilley in MidJourney

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So how do you create them? Here are some prompts for writing business-tech vector graphics:

/imagine png white background, group training and workshops, in the style of big tech illustrations, office atmosphere, full body, text-based – style raw

/imagine Png white background, woman listening to music sitting at the desk with her laptop, in the style of animated illustrations, studyplace, full body, text-based –style raw

/imagine 4 png images, vector illustration pack, knolling style, no border, png white background, [enter subject here]

/imagine4 png images, vector illustration pack, knolling style, no border, png white background, person working with ChatGPT with ChatGPT icon and data in the background –style raw

Tweak the prompts to fit your specific needs and share them on X/Twitter and tag @journtoolbox and @itmikereilley

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More Cool MidJourney Prompts

1. Press Image of a [product name here] standing in a warehouse. –ar 4:5 –style raw

/imagine Press Image of a BMW 340i standing in a warehouse. –ar 4:5 –style raw

2. A 3d model of [item here], focus stacking, tabletop photography

/imagine A 3d model of a train station, focus stacking, tabletop photography

3. Create a wireframe of [object here]
Midjourney was way ahead of other AI tools when it came to generating wireframes. A wireframe prompt in Midjourney is a text input that describes a 3D CAD model of an object or scene using wireframe as the style.

/imagine Create a wireframe of a Formula 1 race car

This prompt gave me three black-and-white options and one color option. I could add more detail (red car, specific make — Ferrari, Mercedes — and color for a more detailed look.

I’m an F-1 fan, so I compared the wireframes with some photos and models of current cars that I have. They were accurate within the car-design guidelines in the past few years. (Note differences in the front wings.)

4. Prompt adjustments. Try this same image, but in four different styles and see how AI designs it differently. How could this work for illustration art for, say, a magazine cover? Examples:

/imagine photo, man in kayak

/imagine digital art, man in kayak

/imagine rpg game, man in kayak

/imagine Movie still, man in kayak

5. Using the /shorten prompt

Midjourney released a new feature with 5.2 that will improve your prompts by rewriting them for you. The new 'Shorten' command lets you 'analyze' a prompt and receive recommendations on the tokens that are effective and those that are not being considered.

Example Prompt 1

/shorten colorful drawing in an abstract, sunrise, futuristic landscapes, metropolis, nature, streamlined, flat perspective, pigment pools --ar 16:9

Example Prompt 2

/shorten colorful drawing in an abstract, sunrise, futuristic landscapes, metropolis, nature, perspective, pools --ar 16:9

Example Prompt 3

/shorten colorful drawing in an abstract, sunrise, futuristic, metropolis, nature, pools --ar 16:9

Video: MidJourney Vector Graphics

Video: MidJourney Basics
For a review of MidJourney fundamentals, watch this short training video. It covers how to set up MidJourney and Discord, how to link them together and write basic prompts. It includes a few exercises with it.

Want More Training?

Contact Mike Reilley at mikereilley1 (at) gmail (dot) com to schedule an AI tools training for your staff.

Also consider a paid subscription to this newsletter or donate to Buy Me a Beer so I can build more training videos.

Call for Entries: Mobile Journalism Awards

The search is on to find the best mobile stories produced by reporters with smartphones. Winners receive valuable prizes and have their work screened at international festivals.

The call for entries for the #MojoAwards, billed as the “Academy Awards of Mobile Journalism” is out. The deadline is Feb. 14, 2024. Many categories. Wonderful competition. Go here to enter.

More AI Tools

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Luma AI Flythroughs
Create drone-quality real estate flythroughs with this AI-driven phone app.

Become a sponsor: Would you like to sponsor future Journalist’s Toolbox™ newsletters? Our rates are reasonable and our sponsors get results. Contact me at mikereilley1 [at] gmail [dot] com

‘The Journalist’s Toolbox’ |‘Data + Journalism’ Textbooks

The Journalist’s Toolbox
My new textbook, “The Journalist’s Toolbox: A Guide to Digital Reporting and AI” will be out on Routledge at the end of December. (Add to wishlist).

It’s a perfect newsroom resource guide and great text for college courses. It has dozens of tools, hands-on exercises and training videos to supplement the book. It’s available as a new “E-Book Plus” that has videos and pop-ups that play right in the book.

Data + Journalism
Samantha Sunne and I co-authored a textbook, “Data + Journalism” that’s available now on Routledge. (Order here). It’s an introductory to intermediate-level guide to learning data storytelling from A to Z.

It features examples, interviews, links to tools and dozens of practical exercises to learn how to find, scrape, clean, visualize and write with data. We also explore ethics, transparency and basic math skills. We even offer a bonus chapter — Chapter 13 — on diversity and inclusion for free on our blog.

In Quotes …

“As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership.” — Amit Ray, Famous AI Scientist, Author of Compassionate Artificial Intelligence

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