If you’re looking for an easy way to elevate your Midjourney illustration styles, look no further than the SREF parameter. It’s a quick shortcut that applies specific illustration styles to your images. Just add –SREF <number> to your prompt, and your art transforms in seconds.
Experimenting with Midjourney illustration styles is one of the most fun parts of using the platform. Whether you’re after Pixar-like animations, dreamy oil paintings, or detailed chalk drawings, SREF codes give you the power to quickly create images that stand out in any style. Think of them as video game cheat codes for incredible Midjourney illustration art.
How Do Midjourney SREF Codes Work?
Midjourney SREF codes are preloaded references that instantly apply specific styles to your prompts. It’s an easy way to cut down on time spent describing a style in a prompt while still nailing exactly what you’re going for. Want inspiration? Browse through the Midjourney illustration examples on this page or test different SREF codes to see how they affect your images.
Here’s the simple prompt template I used for ALL of the illustrations you’ll find on this page:
A brown Boxer Rhodesian Ridgeback mix dog –SREF <code> –stylize 300 –v 6.1
Swap <code> for a specific SREF number, or go wild with –SREF random to include a completely random code. Also, experiment with the –stylize value to adjust the level of Midjourney’s artistic influence on your image.
Meet Bear Wrinkles Smith: Our Rock Star Model
Every illustration on this page features Bear Wrinkles Smith, our Marketing Assistant, and Diversity Hire here at Run The Prompts. He’s not just a dog; he’s the hardest-working employee on the team. Bear’s a Boxer-Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a knack for looking effortlessly attractive in every single Midjourney illustration style.
Bear recently earned the title of Employee of the Month. With loser coworkers like Dick Smith and Rick Smith—he had no competition. It wasn’t ruff.
Bear’s Favorite Midjourney Illustration Styles (and Ours)
Every image of Bear on this page was created using a different Midjourney illustration style, ranging from colored pencil sketches to digital fantasy art. The same prompt was used for all of them, just with different SREF codes. We selected styles that best captured Bear’s unique personality—whether that’s his playful side or his “I’m too cool for this” vibe.
Using SREF codes made the process easy. I didn’t have to spend a bunch of time describing each style.
Again, here’s the simple prompt template I used for ALL of the illustrations you’ll find on this page:
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
A brown Boxer Rhodesian Ridgeback mix dog --SREF (insert code here) --stylize 300 --v 6.1
Wrapping It Up
If you want to elevate your Midjourney illustration styles without the hassle of writing overly detailed prompts, SREF codes are the answer. They’re fast, flexible, and perfect for testing out different Midjourney illustration prompts. Plus, they make it easy to create awesome Midjourney illustration art for any project.
And remember: if you’re stuck, you can always lean on –SREF random for some creative chaos. Who knows? You might stumble onto your next favorite style by accident.
Which style are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below. Also, bookmark this page—you’re going to want to reference it when you need inspiration for your next batch of Midjourney illustration examples. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Until next time, remember to run the prompts and prompt the planet.
