Control

Your
Consistent
Characters
in Midjourney.
Midjourney released their
“Consistent Characters” feature.
And it’s more powerful than you think.

But

The feature only goes so far.

And with better text prompts.

You’ll get better results.

Here’s the thing.
If you don’t prompt your character for...

Facial expressions, Profile, Poses, Actions,

Movements, etc.

You won’t get them.

(Unless you’re lucky)

So let’s take a look.

First, let’s take a step back.

We’ll start with a generic character prompt.

Then we‘ll add some details.

Generic Character Prompt:
Prompt: portrait photo, man in a hoodie, wearing a lime green beanie --ar 5:4
Cool, but...
The base character is all over the place.
Varying poses, clothing, compositions, etc.
Now let’s be more specific.
Specific Character Prompt:
Prompt: Photo Type: street photography portrait, subject: 30 year old man, sitting on a curb,
comfortable pose, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized
hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid ground, environment: set
against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 5:4
Sooo...
The more specific the text prompt.
The more specific the character.
This will pay dividends later.
Let’s keep going.
Generic Prompt. Detailed Prompt.
Let’s start with this dude as our base
character.
Using the CREF function.
And we’ll start to control him.
Here’s what we want to change.
Shot Type.
Perspective.
Expressions
Actions.
What is Character Reference (--cref):
It’s a parameter.

Works very similar to SREF.

It keeps characters consistent across their faces,

hair, clothes, etc.
How to use CREF.
Discord:

01. Generate a character.

02. Copy character image link.
03. Add --cref as parameter.
04. Add a space.
05. Paste image link.
06. Hit submit.

Alpha:

01. Generate a character.

02. Choose an image you like.
03. Select “use image.”
04. Select the “human icon.”
05. Hit submit.

Structure:
text prompt --cref [image link]

Example:
30-year old man wearing a lime green beanie, gray
hoodie --cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Ok...let’s get to work.

Let’s make a simple adjustment to our

character.

And change this to a closeup shot.

Closeup:
Prompt: Photo Type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject: 30 year old man, sitting on a curb,
comfortable pose, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized
hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid ground, environment: set against
a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 5:4 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Ok...that didn’t work.

But why?

It wasn’t MJ’s fault.

It was my prompt.

Let me show you.

The Prompt:

Photo Type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject:

30 year old man, sitting on a curb, comfortable pose, tan
skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid
washed oversized hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie,
subject focus: sharp focus, mid-ground, environment: set
against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked
concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 5:4 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I

The Problem Areas:

Sitting on a curb
Comfortable pose
Black jeans
Mid-ground

But why are they problems?

We gave MJ too many details.

If you give MJ a token...it will try and fit it in.

For example...

If you want a closeup of someone's face...

And you ask for jeans...

It’s going to show the full body.

Therefore...no closeup.

Let’s try it again with those removed.

Closeup:
Prompt: Photo Type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject: 30 year old man, tan skin, dirty
blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, lime green beanie, subject
focus: sharp focus, environment: set against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete,
image type: 35mm --ar 5:4 --cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Ok so removing those worked.

Now...

Let’s change his expression.

Changing Expressions:
Prompt: Photo Type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject: 30 year old man, {smiling, funny face,
yawning}, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, black
jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid ground, environment: set against a black concrete
wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 9:16 --cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I

Smiling. Funny Face. Yawning.

Cool...

Now let’s change his profile.

Changing Profile:
Prompt 1: Photo Type: street photography portrait, closeup, side profile, subject: 30 year old man,
looking {left, right} tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized
hoodie, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, environment: set against a black concrete wall,
texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 9:16 --cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Prompt 2: Photo Type: street photography portrait, side profile, subject: 30 year old man, looking {left,
right}, sitting on a curb, comfortable pose, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid
washed oversized hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid ground,
environment: set against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar
9:16 --cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I

Side Profile: Looking Left. Side Profile: Looking Right. Sitting: Looking Left. Sitting: Looking Right.
Alright...now we’re getting somewhere.

What about if we want to change...

Profile + Expression?
Changing Profile + Expression:
Prompt 1: Photo type: street photography portrait, closeup, side profile, subject: 30 year old man,
looking upwards, {eyes closed, laughing} tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble, wearing: grey acid
washed oversized hoodie, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, environment: set against a
black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 9:16 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Looking Up: Eyes Closed. Looking Up: Laughing.
Small tokens...make a difference.

Can we move more of the body?

Yes.

Let’s change poses.

Changing Pose:
Prompt 1: Photo type: street photography portrait, subject: 30 year old man, {hands raised in the air, single fist in the air,
hands folded, arms crossed, head resting on fist, holding a beer}, sitting on a curb, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard
stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, environment: set
against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 9:16 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Hands raised. Fist in the air. Hands folded.

Head resting on fist. Arms crossed. Holding a beer.

So you don’t have to change much with your
prompts.

You just need to be granular.

Where it counts.

So let’s do something more complex.

By controlling multiple parts of the body.

Complex Pose:
Prompt 1: Photo type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject: 30 year old man, sitting on a curb, comfortable pose,
holding a beer bottle to his face, drinking from the bottle, lips on bottle, head turned to the left, tan skin, dirty blonde hair,
beard stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus,
mid ground, environment: set against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 6:5 -
-cref https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Notice how foolproof you have to be.

Very particular.

Examples:

holding a beer bottle to his face

drinking from the bottle
lips on bottle
head turned to the left

Let’s keep going.

Complex Pose:
Prompt 1: Photo type: street photography portrait, closeup, subject: 30 year old man, sitting on a curb, comfortable pose,
extending his arm upwards, taking a selfie with an iphone, looking upwards at the phone, dirty blonde hair, beard stubble,
wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid ground,
environment: set against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 6:5 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Think about how you would do these things with
your body.

If you’re taking a selfie...

Your arm would be raised.

Your face would be looking at the phone.
Etc.

One more and we’ll wrap it up.

Complex Pose:
Prompt 1: Photo type: street photography portrait, closeup, side profile, subject: 30 year old man, sitting on a curb,
comfortable pose, cradling a newborn baby, laughing, looking down at the baby smiling, tan skin, dirty blonde hair, beard
stubble, wearing: grey acid washed oversized hoodie, black jeans, lime green beanie, subject focus: sharp focus, mid
ground, environment: set against a black concrete wall, texture: artfully cracked concrete, image type: 35mm --ar 6:5 --cref
https://s.mj.run/GuSIIdc0D2I
Controlling Your Character.
Quick Thoughts:
It’s not perfect...but it’s much better.

Midjourney likes to add tattoos.

Regardless of if you prompt for them.

Use the --no parameter to negative prompt them out.

Use Vary Region to edit small continuity issues.

Use higher values of CW (75-100) to keep clothes

consistent.

Use lower CW (0-20) to change the clothes.

Be meticulous with your text prompts.

Until next time...
That's it.
Thanks for reading another carousel.

@Rory Flynn