What does --stylize do in Midjourney?

The --stylize parameter (range 0 to 1000, default 100) controls how strongly Midjourney applies its own trained aesthetic on top of your prompt. Low values stay close to a literal reading of your words; high values let the model add colour, composition, and artistic flourishes you did not explicitly ask for.

What is the default stylize value?

The default is 100. The shorthand presets in Discord map to numbers — --s 50 is low, the default is 100, --s 250 is medium, --s 750 is high, and --s 1000 is the maximum. You can also pass any integer in between.

When should I use a low stylize value?

Use low stylize (0 to 100) when accuracy matters more than beauty — logos, UI mockups, diagrams, product photography, or anything where the model adding its own flourishes would hurt. Low values keep Midjourney honest to your exact wording.

When should I use a high stylize value?

Use high stylize (500 to 1000) for illustration, concept art, posters, and mood pieces where you want the model to make confident artistic choices. High values produce richer colour and composition but can drift away from literal prompt details.

Does stylize affect render time or cost?

No. Unlike --quality, the --stylize value does not change how long an image takes to render or how many GPU minutes it consumes. It only changes the look. You can experiment freely with stylize without affecting your subscription usage.

What is the Midjourney Stylize Explorer?

Interactive reference for Midjourney's --stylize parameter. Move the slider from 0 to 1000 to see what each level does to literalness versus artistic interpretation, with annotations and copy-ready flag snippets for every step. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Midjourney Stylize Explorer

Name: Midjourney Stylize Explorer
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Midjourney’s --stylize parameter is one of the most powerful and least understood dials. It controls the tug-of-war between what you literally typed and Midjourney’s own trained aesthetic. This explorer lets you scrub through the value range and see, in plain language, what each level does — plus a recommendation based on whether your prompt is literal or artistic.

How it works

--stylize accepts an integer from 0 to 1000, defaulting to 100. The slider here snaps to the documented checkpoints (0, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000) and explains the behaviour at each one:

0 — Almost no aesthetic overlay. The model follows your words very literally. Best for technical accuracy.
100 (default) — A light, balanced touch of Midjourney’s style. Good general-purpose setting.
250 — Noticeably more artistic colour and composition while still respecting your prompt.
500 — Midjourney starts making bold choices; details you did not specify get filled in attractively.
750 — Strongly stylised. Great for posters and mood pieces, but literal accuracy slips.
1000 — Maximum aesthetic. The model prioritises beauty over fidelity to your exact words.

The tool then weighs your prompt type (literal vs. artistic) against the chosen value and tells you whether you are in the sweet spot or pushing too far in one direction.

Tips and notes

Stylize is free. It does not change render time or GPU cost, so experiment without worry.
Pair with chaos, not against it. --stylize controls how artistic, while --chaos controls how varied the four results are. They are independent dials.
Logos and diagrams: go low. Anything where added flourishes are a bug, not a feature, wants --stylize 0 to 50.
Test, then commit. A quick comparison at 100, 250, and 750 for the same prompt usually reveals which level matches your intent before you settle in.

Stylize by use case: a practical guide

Different creative goals call for different points on the stylize dial. Here is how to match the value to the task:

Technical and commercial work (logos, UI mockups, product shots, diagrams): --stylize 0 to --stylize 50. At these values Midjourney follows your prompt very literally — the background color you described stays that color, the object keeps its shape, and the model does not add artistic flourishes you did not ask for. Going below 100 is especially important when accuracy matters more than beauty.

General illustration and concept art: --stylize 100 to --stylize 300. The default 100 gives a light aesthetic touch without overriding your direction. Stepping up to 250 or 300 produces richer color relationships and more dynamic composition while still following the prompt’s content fairly faithfully.

Poster art, mood pieces, and editorial illustration: --stylize 400 to --stylize 750. At this range Midjourney makes confident design choices — complementary color palettes, cinematic lighting, expressive compositional energy. It may deviate from specific details you described, but the resulting images are often more visually arresting than what a lower value produces.

Maximum artistic expression: --stylize 1000. Treat this as a creative conversation starter rather than a reliable tool. The model prioritizes its own aesthetic training over your literal words. Useful for generating unexpected interpretations or discovering visual directions you would not have thought to describe.

Stylize and the —raw mode interaction

In some Midjourney versions, --raw mode (where available) reduces the model’s inherent aesthetic processing and produces more neutral, literal outputs similar to a low --stylize value. If you have access to raw mode and also set a low stylize, the two reinforce each other for maximum prompt adherence. Conversely, --raw combined with high stylize can produce unpredictable results, so it is worth testing before relying on that combination for production work.