I’ve been using Midjourney for a few months now, primarily for generating visuals to accompany project briefs and roadmap presentations in my work with task management tools. While I’m consistently impressed by the technical prowess of the newer versions, particularly v5 and v5.1, I find myself feeling a bit nostalgic for the outputs from v4.
There was a certain… weight and artistic character to v4 images. The textures felt more tangible, the lighting had a painterly quality, and even the “imperfections” sometimes added a sense of authenticity. With the newer models, everything is incredibly clean, precise, and hyper-realistic, which is brilliant for many use cases. But for my needs—often wanting to create concept art that feels grounded or illustrative assets with a bit of grit—the current results can sometimes feel almost too sterile.
I’m curious if others in the community have noticed this shift. Specifically, for those who also work with project or product imagery, do you find the newer versions more or less effective for creating visuals that feel less like polished stock photos and more like crafted art? I’d be particularly interested in a comparison of the same prompt across v4, v5, and v5.1, focusing on the handling of texture, material detail, and overall mood.
Thanks!
Not just you. The v4 "imperfections" were often coherent artistic choices. V5's hyper-realism is technically superior, but that texture flattening kills useful artifacts.
For concept art, try adding `--style raw` and cranking `--stylize` way down, maybe 300-400. It sometimes reintroduces some of that grittiness. Also, explicitly adding medium terms like "gouache study" or "matte painting, visible brushstrokes" can force it away from the sterile look.
It's a trade off. You're losing the model's character for control and consistency.
Trust but verify, then don't trust.