The Describe feature in the Midjourney web app is a powerful tool for AI art enthusiasts. It allows users to upload any image and receive text descriptions that can be used to generate new prompts.
It’s particularly useful for recreating styles or reverse-engineering prompts from existing images. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to use Describe in the Midjourney web app, and reverse engineer prompts.
What is Describe in Midjourney?
Describe is a powerful feature in the Midjourney web app that allows users to analyze images and generate text descriptions.
When you upload an image to Midjourney and use the Describe function, the AI analyzes the visual content and produces four possible text prompts that could potentially recreate similar images. Since V8.1 those prompts are longer and more detailed, written to match how the V8 models like to be prompted.
This tool is invaluable for understanding how to construct effective prompts, reverse-engineering existing AI art, and exploring new creative directions in image generation.
The Describe feature acts as a bridge between visual and textual content, helping users translate what they see into prompts that Midjourney can understand and use to generate new images. Just don’t expect a carbon copy: the prompts are inspiration, not a replica of your image.
It’s particularly useful for those who are new to prompt engineering or those looking to refine their skills in creating more precise and effective prompts.
How to Use Describe in the Midjourney Web App
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Start by finding an image you want to use as a reference and save it to your computer (or use one you’ve already uploaded to Midjourney).
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Go to midjourney.com and open the Create page.
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Drag the image onto the Imagine bar. A panel pops up that says Drop image to describe.
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Drop the image on that panel. Midjourney writes four prompts at the top of your Create page.
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Click Use Prompt to load one of them into the Imagine bar, or Run all prompts to try all four straight away.
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Edit the prompt: cut anything you don’t want, and optionally add known artists or additional style descriptors.
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Press enter to generate new images based on your created prompt.
It’s that simple!
There are a few other ways in, too:
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Right-click any image on your Create or Organize page and choose Describe Image.
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In your uploads library, hover over an image, click the three dots and hit Describe.
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In the Edit tab, the Suggest Prompt button uses Describe to write a prompt for the image you’re editing.
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On Discord, type
/describe, upload an image or paste a link, and the Midjourney Bot replies with four prompts.
How to Reverse Engineer Prompts Using Describe in Midjourney
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Find an AI-generated image you’d like to recreate.
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Take a screenshot if you can’t directly copy the image.
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Upload the screenshot to Midjourney using the steps above.
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Use the Describe feature to get prompt ideas based on the image.
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Select the most relevant prompt, or mix the best bits of a few, to create a new prompt.
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Add style descriptors like “in the style of Disney” or “in the style of Pixar” if appropriate.
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Keep the style words Describe picks out, like the medium, lighting and art style. They do a lot of the heavy lifting.
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Generate new images using your reverse-engineered prompt.
Tips for Using Describe in the Midjourney Web App
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Experiment with different combinations of the suggested descriptions to fine-tune your results.
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Don’t hesitate to edit the generated descriptions to better match your vision.
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Use the Describe feature multiple times on the same image to get a variety of prompt ideas. You get a different set every time.
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Combine descriptions from different Describe results to create more complex and unique prompts.
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Pay attention to style descriptors and artist names suggested by the tool, as they can significantly influence the final output.
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For a closer match, add the original image as an Image Prompt or Style Reference alongside your Describe prompt.
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Describe suggestions vanish when you refresh the Create page, so copy the keepers into the Imagine bar first.
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Remember that the Describe feature is a starting point – feel free to add your own creative touches to the prompts.
By mastering the Describe feature in Midjourney’s web app, you’ll be able to generate more accurate prompts, recreate styles you admire, and even reverse-engineer complex AI-generated images. My Midjourney prompt guide covers what to do with those prompts next.
Create anything from photography prompts, to Pixar style images and more! This powerful tool opens up new possibilities for AI art creation and experimentation.
