Catalyst Elements
Midjourney 1 min read

Why a Midjourney Prompt Full of Adjectives Decides Nothing

Ten glowing adjectives gave one children's author four different foxes and no hero. This piece looks at why a prompt full of feeling leaves Midjourney guessing.

Leila Bakari Leila Bakari Children's Author, Illustrator & Creative Education Advocate

One fox, ten adjectives

Hana is writing a children's book about a small fox who is afraid of the dark. She needs a hero for the cover, so she types the most generous prompt she can imagine: cute, adorable, magical, beautiful, amazing, detailed, high quality, stunning, perfect, wonderful.

Ten adjectives. The grid shows four different foxes, and not one of them is a hero.

A feeling is not something to hold on to

She tries again with even more adjectives, and the pictures do not improve. She begins to wonder whether her imagination is failing.

It is not. Her imagination is fine. Her prompt describes a feeling, and a feeling gives Midjourney very little to hold on to.

Ten adjectives, zero decisions.

Leila Bakari, The Midjourney Prompt Handbook

What changed her grid

In the book I call these words decorations: they sound lovely, and they decide nothing. What changed Hana's next grid was not more words, and not fewer. It was a different way of describing what she already saw in her mind, the way she would explain it to an illustrator.

How that works, and what it means for a hero who must look like the same fox on every page, is waiting in the book.

Learn more and read the full book The Midjourney Prompt Handbook.

About the author

Leila Bakari

Leila Bakari

Children's Author, Illustrator & Creative Education Advocate

Specialisation
Children's Book Writing & Illustration, Colouring Book Design, Educational Content Development, Multicultural Storytelling, Art Therapy for Children, Visual Learning Resources
Based in
London, UK

Leila Bakari has emerged as an influential voice in children's literature and creative education, with particular focus on multicultural representation and art-based learning. She founded Rainbow Stories Publishing in 2015, having previously worked as lead illustrator for major children's publishers, as a children's art therapy facilitator, and as an educational content developer for international NGOs. Her work spans children's narrative development, therapeutic colouring book design, multicultural character creation and inclusive storytelling frameworks. Notable projects include the twelve-volume "Colours of the World" colouring book series, the "Little Explorers" multicultural children's book collection, the art therapy series "My Feelings in Colours", and the award-winning picture book "Amani's Garden", alongside educational partnerships with UNICEF and Save the Children.

Where to go next

  • Companion book

    The Midjourney Prompt Handbook

    ebook · 85 pages · ISBN B0HMDCVYGS

    Your first Midjourney image is a draft, not a result: this is the five-layer method that turns a vague idea into a picture you actually meant to make.