Using ChatGPT4 with MidJourney 5.0

Unlocking the creativity of AI.

If you’ve read some of my earlier pieces you know that I’ve been using both MidJourney and ChatGPT since they were released. I’ve posted before on how I’ve used MidJourney for image creation and ChatGPT for fiction and poetry. I’ve started using a new technique that I’d like to share.

First off, I’m not really a big fan of version 5 of MJ. Yes, it is lovely and photorealistic AND they’ve finally gotten the fingers to works. But it is just sort of meh when it comes to most creative possibilities. It is a bit too literal for my tastes when it comes to prompting. I’ve long embraced the “v-roll” version of image creation, staying away from the typical prompt jockey approach. While I could get away with it in the earlier versions, this current one doesn’t have that same ability. So I have found that I’ve been forced to change my usual workflow.

Here’s a recent example from my most current haiga, When a Poet Writes.

First, I wrote the poem. Since this post is about the image side and not the poem side, I won’t go into the backstory:

when a poet writes
just for money they will earn
nothing but contempt

I then used the poem as a prompt in MJ and came up with pretty much nothing usable. I always try that just in case there is something, just as I often run the prompt through earlier versions if I think they might come up with something.

So, I fired up ChatGPT 4 and asked it:

What would be a good image to accompany this poem: when a poet writes / just for money they will earn / nothing but contempt

To which it responded:

A good image to accompany this poem could be a picture of a poet sitting at a cluttered desk with scattered papers and crumpled dollar bills. The poet appears frustrated or disillusioned, reflecting the emptiness of writing just for money. A dimly lit room and a quill pen could add a touch of artistic symbolism to the scene, emphasizing the contrast between the true essence of poetry and the pursuit of material gain.

To which I said EXACTLY and then told it to:

Create a prompt I can can use to make the image you have suggested

And then it responded:

“Create an illustration depicting a disheartened poet sitting at a cluttered desk in a dimly lit room, surrounded by scattered papers and crumpled dollar bills, as they struggle to write for the sake of monetary gain. Include symbolic elements such as a quill pen to emphasize the contrast between the true essence of poetry and the pursuit of material wealth.”

Which isn’t the greatest of prompts as far as prompt craft goes. BUT it did get far more specific than my poem did. And I liked the idea that an AI envisioned the illustration.

So, I put it into MJ ver 5 and came up with this: