With all the hoopla about the AI art generators, I was intrigued to give them a try. So far, I’ve tried Midjourney and Wonder. I love one, and admit defeat with the other.

Midjourney, I don’t understand. It isn’t intuitive at all. I’ve seen lots of gorgeous results from lots of friends, but I can’t get anything particularly good out of it. I’m not giving up, but it will probably never be my go-to app.

On the other hand, Wonder is easy to use, and creates images I am (mostly) happy with.

For example. I used the prompt “Rapunzel’s tower with one window at the top and the witch standing at the base” for both programs. Both of them seemed to have trouble with the details, but came up with something.

Here’s the Midjourney result:

It’s an evocative image, but I obviously didn’t phrase it adequately to get what I was looking for.

Here’s the Wonder image I liked best:

Still not exactly what I asked for, but feels more illustrative to me. I personally like the cleaner lines. It looks more like the polished works others I know are creating in Midjourney.

I can see the appeal of the generators. I would probably never use them for anything more than inspirational images, but I can see potentially creating covers or promotional images once I really figure things out so that the results look professional.

Another thing I like about Wonder is the price. It may not be quite as flexible as Midjourney, but it is less than $30 for a lifetime upgrade, while the base package for Midjourney is $10 a month.

These are just a few of my personal thoughts on the programs. Your mileage may vary a LOT if you have an art background, for instance.

On the other hand, practice will probably help, as I tried the prompt “man with features reminiscent of a skeleton,” and I think I like Midjourney’s better. What do you think?

Midjourney:

Wonder:

Though both are really creepy.

Just my exploration of the current trend. I think I will enjoy both programs until the next shiny catches my eye. I would love to hear from other users as to your experiences and tips.