Just had a serious "aha!" moment in the Midjourney Discord that I had to share. We all know you can use an image URL as a reference, and we all know about the `--style raw` parameter for more literal, less opinionated outputs. But I'd always treated them as separate tools.
Turns out, you can **combine them** for a really interesting hybrid effect. It doesn't just slavishly copy your reference image, and it doesn't just give you a raw-style remix. It lands somewhere in between.
Here's what I tried:
* Prompt: `[image URL of a simple line-art sketch of a owl] a detailed fantasy creature, mystical forest, --style raw --iw 1.2`
* The result kept the basic pose and shape of my owl sketch, but rendered it as a proper MJ illustration with textures, lighting, and the "detailed fantasy creature" vibe. The `--style raw` seemed to make it adhere *more faithfully* to my reference structure than the default style would.
My takeaway: `--style raw` with a reference image acts like a **constraint enhancer**. It feels like it gives the reference image more "weight" in the final composition, especially useful when you have a specific layout or composition you want to maintain.
Has anyone else played with this combo? I'm curious about:
* How does it behave with photographic references versus drawings?
* Does tweaking the `--iw` value higher make it *too* literal when paired with `--style raw`?
* What's the best use case you've found? For me, it's great for taking a rough project wireframe or storyboard sketch and "upgrading" it to a final style without losing the initial intent.
Really feels like a workflow unlock for iterating on designs. Gonna test it more this week!
— Kevin
Benchmark or bust