Testing Midjourney v5 to Design App Store Icons
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As you may have heard, Midjourney has just released its Version 5.
If you’re a fan of realism, then you’ll love this version. However, if you preferred Midjourney’s default style, then you may want to stick with the previous iteration.
In the past, we’ve seen how Midjourney can boost our ideation process and serve as a valuable starting point for creating icons. But with the release of v5, the burning question is: does it surpass its predecessor in terms of generating high-quality assets?
Let’s explore this question.
To begin, let’s use the same prompt we previously tested in Midjourney v4. Our goal is to create an app icon or mockup for the popular mobile game, Overwatch. The prompt we’re working with is as follows:
/imagine: app icon for Overwatch game with Tracer in a dynamic pose with her two guns and smile
As a reminder, here’s what Midjourney v4 generated:
And this is what happens when we enter the same prompt in v5:
This outcome is falling a bit short of our expectations. It seems like this version performs better with more detailed and comprehensive prompts. Let’s try out a more intricate prompt formulated in sentence format.
/imagine: An App Store icon for the Overwatch mobile game with Tracer standing in a dynamic pose, smiling, and holding her two guns; an explosion in the background.
Here’s the result:
/imagine: Mobile game icon showing Tracer from Overwatch in a dynamic pose
These are not the best, but we can refine them by utilizing the Stylize parameter. This parameter determines the extent to which Midjourney’s default aesthetic style is applied and can range from 0 to 1000. To use this parameter, simply type “-s” or “-stylize” followed by a number.
Let’s see how this affects our result:
/imagine: Mobile game icon showing Tracer from Overwatch in a dynamic pose –s 1000
This result is a bit messy, but it has the general spirit that we’re looking for. By tweaking the variation and upscaling, we can improve the icon’s anatomy a bit.
Let’s try to request a more realistic version of the icon:
/imagine: 4k, hyperrealistic icon for the Overwatch mobile game, featuring Tracer
It seems that v5 currently struggles to capture the unique style of Overwatch in comparison to its predecessor. But let’s use the stylize parameter again.
/imagine: 4k, hyperrealistic icon for the Overwatch mobile game, featuring Tracer –s 100
So two things have become clear about Midjourney v5’s capabilities:
- It tends to perform better with more detailed prompts expressed in full sentences.
- It seems to have a preference for producing outputs that are hyper-realistic.
To explore its capabilities further, let’s test it out with a character who is well-suited for a realistic style. When it comes to icons, Lara Croft comes to mind as a perfect example.
/imagine: mobile app icon showing Lara Croft in a dynamic pose with a gun, close up, dirty face, lit from the fire nearby — q 2 — v 5 — ar 1:1
Here’s what it generated for us:
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Midjourney Version 5 is an impressive tool for creating visuals that align with a more hyper-realistic style (i.e. Cyberpunk). However, if you need help with animated or cartoon assets, it may be best to stick with the previous version for now.
What v5 does is push users to think more creatively and provide detailed input into the generated picture, requiring them to think more like an artist. While it may seem unconventional to use the word “artist” in conjunction with AI, v5’s ability to facilitate creative thinking may just be a game changer.
Still believe human creativity is irreplaceable? AppAgent can help you come up with fresh ideas for app store and ad creatives.
