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Midjourney Parameter Guide: Style Reference

Using Style References in Prompts

You can use images as style references in your prompts to influence the style or aesthetic of the images you want Midjourney to create.

To add a style reference to your prompt, use the --sref parameter with the web address (URL) of an image stored online: --sref URL

Key Points:

  • Style references only work with prompts that include text and cannot be used with prompts that consist solely of images.
  • You can also use prompt text to reinforce your style reference and may need to use more specific styles.
  • Any regular image prompt must be placed before --sref.
  • You can use multiple style references: --sref URL1 URL2 URL3
  • You can also use --sref random to apply a random style to the image.

Example

Prompt: /imagine prompt a cat --sref https://url.com/CatSketch.png

Style Weight Parameter

Use the style weight parameter --sw to set the intensity of the style. --sw accepts values from 0 to 1000. --sw 100 is the default value.

You can also assign different weights to individual style references: --sref URL1::2 URL2::1 URL3::1

Style Reference Versions

The style reference feature has four versions. Use the --sv parameter to choose between them. --sv 4 is the default value.

  • --sv 1: The original style reference algorithm, more “vibey.”
  • --sv 2: The second iteration of style reference.
  • --sv 3: A more “vibey” updated version of --sv 1.
  • --sv 4: An updated version of --sv 2.

Random Style References

You can use --sref random to randomly select a style from a range of abstract styles known to Midjourney.

Using --sref random with the Reorder 🔃 or Variant functions will generate different images with the same random style as the parent grid. Using --sref random with permutations or in repeated prompts will apply a different random style to each job. After submitting the prompt, “random” will be replaced with a style reference seed, which you can use to replicate the style in future prompts. Use --sw with random style references to control the degree of influence the random style has on the result. Random style references or style reference seeds cannot be combined with each other or with URL style references.

Example

Prompt: /imagine prompt a cat --sref random

Style Reference Seed

In completed jobs, the “random” value will be replaced with a style reference seed number: --sref random➡️--sref 762351716. You can use this style reference seed to generate images with the same style in future prompts.