Midjourney Upscale Guide – How to Upscale Midjourney Images to 2K/4K/8K

If you have ever used Midjourney, you will know that Midjourney’s images are amazing in every aspects, except the small size. By default, the Midjourney produces images in 1024 x1024. This is too small to print on a poster, POD service, background, etc. Luckily, Midjourney’s upscalers can help increase the image size. In this article, we will show you how to upscale Midjourney images to 4K, 300 DPI, or higher resolution for print, design, advertisement, etc.

How to Upscale Midjourney Images in Discord?

How to Use Midjourney Upscale 2x?

1. Generate an Image

Create an image using the /imagine command.

2. Select an Image

Look for the "U" button below each generated image in the grid. Use a U button to separate your selected image from the grid.

3. Select Upscale

Once isolated, a new set of buttons will appear, including "Upscale (Subtle)" and "Upscale (Creative)". Click on the Upscale (Subtle) or Upscale (Creative) button to upscale your image. Both AI image upscalers will double the size of your Midjourney image to 2048 x 2048 pixels.

• Upscale (Subtle): This option prioritizes maintaining the original style while doubling the image resolution.
• Upscale (Creative): This option focuses on adding more detail and artistic flair during the upscaling process. While it can achieve a more visually-appealing result, it may introduce slight stylistic changes compared to the original image.

4. Download the Upscaled Midjourney Image

Once satisfied, download your upscaled artwork in the desired format for further use. Note that the image you downloaded from Discord may be saved in Webp format. To get it in PNG format, you need to download the image from Midjourny.

Example 1: Original vs Subtle Upscale vs Creative Upscale

Example 2: Original vs Subtle Upscale vs Creative Upscale

How to Use Midjourney Upscale 4x?

If you want to upscale Midjourney images to 4K or 300DPI, you will need the 4x upscaler in Midjourney 5.2.

1. Switch Midjourney from the default V6 to V5.2

1. Using the "--version" or "--v" parameter: In your Midjourney prompt, add the following parameter at the end: --version 5.2 (or --v 5.2)
2. Using the "/settings" command: Within the Midjourney interface, type the following command: settings. This will open a menu with various options. Look for the option labeled "Use the default model (V6)" or something similar.Select "Midjourney Model 5.2" from the available options. Then your subsequent prompts will use version 5.2.

2. Generate an Image

Create an image using the /imagine command.

3. Select an Image

Look for the "U" button below each generated image in the grid. Use a U button to separate your selected image from the grid.

4. Select Upscale

Once isolated, a new set of buttons will appear, including "Upscale (2x)" and "Upscale (4x)". Click on Upscale (4x) to upscale Midjourney images 4x to 4K resolution.

Example 1: Original vs Midjourney 2x Upscale vs 4x Upscale

Example 2: Original vs Midjourney 2x Upscale vs 4x Upscale

Maximum Resolution Of Midjourney Output

Limitations of Midjourney Upscalers

Midjourney upscalers, while offering image upscaling capabilities, is hindered by several limitations and bugs that hinder its overall user experience. The slow processing speed, particularly in Relax mode, coupled with details loss, excessive softness, and overly sharpening artifacts, make it less appealing for users seeking quick and high-quality results. Additionally, the lack of batch processing and multiple upscaling options further restricts its usability. 

1. Can’t Upscale Midjourney to 4K or Higher Resolutions

• How do I upscale an image to 4k using MJ6? I usually use 5.2 and theres a prompt that comes up for 4k upscale but it doesnt for version 6.
• How do I upscale a image to 4k resolution once I like the final result?

The current Midjourney V6 upscalers can only upscale images by 2x. If you want to use Midjourney 4x upscaler or upscale Midjourney images to 4K quality, you need to switch to V5.2. However, this means you'll sacrifice the newer features of V6.

2. The Upscaled Midjourney Images are Too Soft

• Seems like the upscales sometimes soften the image too much? Things like lace necklines end up a bit muddy.
• I feel that depending on the image it kinda softens it too much, epsecially with skin, it tends to lose realistic look in characters.

Midjourney uspcalers, especially V6 Subtle upscaler, make the upscaled image look software and lose its sharpness. Sometimes, the upscaled image comes out too soft to extent it's not usable.

3. Detail Loss

• MJ does a good job in some respects but it really likes to smooth out finer details, which really ruins the vibe of the image, and sometimes makes photo quality renders into wax characters.
• Anybody have any tricks for getting better upscale results? Upscale often destroys details which kind of ruins the character of the image, which sucks.

Many users notice that a lot of details disappear from the original image after upscaling, such as the leaves, flowers, furs. Midjourney upscalers replace the finer details by simpler texture and lines. This destroy the characters, aesthatic value, and vibe of the image.

4. Original Image changed

• Is there a work around for upscaling on the alpha site where there is no change to the image.
• there a way to upscale v6 images without MJ trying to alter the image (subtle/creative) ? I'm asking for something like v5.2's "x2" or "x4".

With Midjourney V6’s Subtle and Creative upscalers, too many details are changed and created. When someone is satisfied with an Midjourney image, the uspcaler changes the minor details and even stype. However, some users simply want a faithful upscaling, no "creative" stuff.

5. Blur, Noise, Pixelation

• I'm happy with result so I wanted to upscale it to get better resolution and hopefully more detail... but upscale result is astonishingly more blurry.
• Weird textures triggered when utilizing subtle upscale...

Instead of upscaling Midjourney images to higher quality, the upscaled outputs introduce quality issues, such as blur, pixilation, and noise. On some images, there is a weird dotted canvas texture on the image.

6. Slow Speed

• Has anyone noticed that the Creative Upscale is taking a lot longer in the past few hours.. In relax mode it taking 15-20+ minutes. In Fast it's 1/3rd of that or less.
• Why does upscale take so long now?

Our tests and user feedback indicate that upscaling an Midjourney image takes approximately: 2 minutes for 2x upscaling and 4 minutes for 4x upscaling. However, if you choose to use the relax mode to save your fast GPU hours, the processing time may be significantly longer due to the queueing system.

7. High Price

Upscaling images in Midjouney consumes GPU time. The basic plan can upscale 33 images to 4K/month and 99 images to 2K/month. Besides, various factors will affect the specific amount of time, including the upscaling ratio, image resolution, and image complexity. Once these limits are reached, further upscaling will require additional GPU time or a subscription upgrade.

You may switch to the relax mode that prioritizes saving GPU time over processing speed. However, this mode significantly increases processing time.

8. Face Distortion

• Im on V6 or when I upscale the face becomes distorted.
• I finally have my image, i upscale it and boom... its like MJ telling me to forget beauty and go for ugliness.

In some cases, the face in an upscaled Midjourney image is distorted, destroyed, blurry, or otherwise becomes ugly.

9. Midjourney Upscalers can’t Upscale Local Images

• Is there a way to take an uploaded image and simply upscale it using Midjourney?
• Is it possible to take an image I've drawn, put it into MJ and ask it to upscale or improve it?

Midjourney upscalers can only handle images created on Discord. You can’t uploaded an image from local computer and simply upscale it using Midjourney.

10. Upscaling Errors

• Job with id xxxx not found when use upscale
• Can't upscale, always failed to process your command

While image upscaling in Midjourney is easy, it’s not necessarily smooth. Various errors may occur, including “can't upscale, always failed to process your command”, “job not found”, “Could not complete the job”, etc.

Aiarty- Upscale Midjourney Images to 4K/Higher No Limits

Aiarty Image Enhancer is an AI image upscaler and enhancer designed for AI-generated images from Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-E, and other generators. It can upscale Midjourney AI images by 2x, 4x, and 8x. You can easily upscale Midjourney images from 1024P to 4K, 8K, 16K, and even 32K. During the upscaling, it can also fix Midjourney image quality issues, such as noise, blur, pixelated effects, and some artifacts.
Aiarty Image Enhancer leverages cutting-edge AI technology to excel in two key areas:

1. Unmatched Detail Generation: It goes beyond Midjourney upscalers by creating even more intricate details in the upscaled image.
2. Exceptional Fidelity to the Original: Despite the detail boost, Aiarty prioritizes maintaining the overall style and essence of the original Midjourney image.

Steps to Upscale Midjourney Images to 4K/Higher

Step 1. Free download the Midjourney upscaler, install, and launch it.

Step 2. Drag and drop one single image or multiple images to Aiarty Image Enhancer.

Step 3. After analyzing, choose an AI model in the right panel. There are 3 different AI models for upscaling different Midjourney images.

• More-detail GAN V2: Injects stunning detail and clarity, especially for Midjouney images with intricate elements like skin, hair, and textures.
• Smooth Diff V2: Achieve a flawless, airbrushed look with this model for a polished aesthetic.
• Real-Photo V3: Restore faded or damaged images.

Step 4. Choose a resolution or an upscale scale. You can choose from x2, x4, or x8 to enlarge Midjourney images into high resolution up to 32K (on Windows) or 16K (on Mac); or simply choose 1K, 2K, 4K, or 8K. You can also choose x1 to enhance image quality while eliminating noise, blur, pixelation, etc. artifacts.

Step 5. Specify the export settings. Choose an output format and quality level. You are suggested to use the default settings. Click "Browse" to choose a folder to save the upscaled Midjourney images. Then click "RUN" to start.

Aiarty Image Enhancer vs Midjourney Upscaler

Does Aiarty Image Enhancer provide better upscaled quality than Midjourney’s built-in upscalers? Both tools have their strengths and weaknesses, and the "better" option depends on your specific needs and priorities. Here's a breakdown comparing Aiarty Image Enhancer and Midjourney's built-in upscalers.

To truly understand the difference, below showcase side-by-side comparisons of Aiarty and Midjourney's upscaling results for 2x and 4x upscaling.

Example 1: Aiarty 2x Upscale vs Midjourney Subtle Upscale vs Original

Example 3: Aiarty 4x Upscale vs Midjourney 4x Upscale vs Original

Example 4: Aiarty 4x Upscale vs Midjourney 4x Upscale vs Original

Conclusion:

The key takeaway? Experiment and explore! Midjourney's built-in upscaling offers a convenient and readily accessible solution for many users. But for those seeking to push the limits of resolution, combining Midjourney with specialized AI upscalers can be a powerful combination. Aiarty Image Enhancer is specially designed to upscale AI-generated images to 4K and higher resolutions. It will preserve the intricate details and textures present in your Midjourney creations and intelligently add new details that blend seamlessly with the existing artwork, fostering a more realistic and visually captivating experience.