So, you’ve finally decided your repulsive face would look way better as a cartoon. Or maybe your coworker’s annoying smirk is just begging for the Pixar treatment. Either way, Midjourney v7’s new Omni Reference is here to save your artistic daydreams and visual nightmares.
No more frustrating character inconsistencies. No more characters morphing from Brad Pitt to Brad from accounting. Midjourney Omni Reference locks your chosen image in place, giving you consistent characters across multiple styles.
No, it’s not perfect. But nothing in the AI world is perfect (yet), so get over it.
Ready? Good. Let’s party.
Midjourney V7’s Omni Reference: What Is It?
Remember the old days of the Character Reference (cref) option? Well, Omni Reference is essentially Midjourney v7’s natural evolution from Character References… which no longer works in version 7.
Midjourney Omni Reference anchors a photo of your subject (your selfie, your ex, your dog, whatever) and consistently applies it across multiple art styles. For example: your face, cartoonified, nearly every time.
The Midjourney parameter for Omni Reference is –oref. However, if you’re creating with Midjourney.com’s web interface, you won’t need to worry about using it.
Tips for Using Midjourney Omni Reference
Before you get cocky and screw this up like everything else, here’s the playbook:
1. Experiment with Tweaking Your Omni Weight (–ow)
This dial runs from 1 to 1,000, and it controls how closely the AI sticks to your original image. Zero is the lowest, and 1,000 is the strongest adherence to your image. The default Omni Weight is 1,000, which is what you’ll get if you don’t manually set your own Omni Weight.
2. Start the Prompt with Your Preferred Style
This isn’t just relevant to Omni Reference, but it’s best practice to start your prompts with your desired style. Front-loaded information in the prompt is treated with more importance. Midjourney’s official documentation goes as far as to recommend that you state the important piece of your prompt at the end of it as well.
3. Use Style Permutations for Fast, Multiple Iterations
You can run multiple style scales in one go with curly brackets. Think of it as the AI version of hedging your bets—more options, less effort. For example, run this parameter at the end of your prompt to instantly generate images in 400, 600, and 800 style settings: –s {400, 600, 800}
4. No Public Figures or Politicians (Seriously)
Don’t tell Midjourney you want your image to include Elon Musk or Joe Biden. You’re not fooling anyone, and Midjourney just gets mad. Stick to descriptions of people like that instead. So, instead of including “Elon Musk” in your prompt, include “53-year-old man with brown hair with Asperger’s.”
5. Remix the Winners
This also goes for Midjourney prompting in general. When you get something awesome, don’t reinvent the wheel. Use the “Vary Subtle” or “Vary Strong” buttons to refine. It’s like baking cookies: start with dough, not flour and sugar every single time.
6. Test Styles, Then Test Again
Not all styles are created equal with Midjourney Omni Reference. Disney style might nail your face perfectly, while caricature style might turn you into something you’d prefer never to see again. Different styles tend to behave differently.
7. Pick the Right Image: No Potato Quality Allowed
Your Omni image matters. Aim for clear, straightforward images of your subject. Avoid blurry photos, pixelation, or excessive filters.
Drag your chosen image into Midjourney’s Omni Reference panel, and you’re good to go. Simple.
Awesome Midjourney Omni Reference Prompts
1980s Animation Style
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
1980s 2D flat animation cartoon style character, a man with brown hair wearing a suit, cinematic lighting, action pose, holding a pistol, side lighting, high contrast, action crime scene cartoon background --ar 5:6 --oref https://s.mj.run/3U01ECPFb_A --ow 1000 --stylize 200 --v 7
Disney Pixar Cartoon Style
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
Disney-style cartoon character, a man with brown hair wearing a suit, standing in an action pose, holding a pistol, vibrant downtown city background, smooth lines, soft shadows, bold colors --ar 5:6 --oref https://s.mj.run/3U01ECPFb_A --ow 1000 --stylize 200 --v 7
Caricature Style
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
Caricature style, exaggerated features, man with brown hair wearing a suit, cinematic lighting, action pose, holding a Heckler & Koch P30L pistol, brushwork line drawing, illustrated flat color graphic, high contrast, action scene background --chaos 10 --ar 5:6 --oref https://s.mj.run/3U01ECPFb_A --ow 1000 --v 7
Resident Evil Style
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
A scene from a mature action game for Playstation with pixelated graphics. The scene features a 30 year old man with brown hair holding a pistol. She is in a sewer, which has a macomb look. Use the style of Resident Evil --ar 5:6 --oref https://s.mj.run/3U01ECPFb_A --ow 1000 --stylize 400 --v 7
Wrapping It Up
With Midjourney Omni Reference, you’re ready to effortlessly cartoonify anyone, from yourself to anyone else. So grab your best image, turn the Omni Weight dial, and let’s see some sick results.
Until next time, remember to run the prompts and prompt the planet.
