MidJourney: Scaling Images Up
Sometimes you need a very high quality image - beyond what MidJourney is capable of outputting - and you're not sure how to get it. MidJourney doesn't (at the time of writing) do 4K images, since it won't go above ~3m pixels (https://midjourney.gitbook.io/docs/resource-links/understanding-image-size#midjourney-image-sizes). To get there, you'll need to scale up another way.
For more in the official manual, see https://midjourney.gitbook.io/docs/resource-links/understanding-image-size
For an extremely detailed resource on scaling up images, also see https://upscale.wiki/wiki/Model_Database.
Example Image[edit | edit source]
I'll be using a simple example generated by MidJourney through these to illustrate differences. I've scaled it down on purpose to illustrate upscaling.
Basic Upscaling[edit | edit source]
You can, of course, plunk your image into any editor and upscale it. Here's an example of scaled up by 10x using paint.net (https://www.getpaint.net/). While this looks the same in this little shot, it's blurry once you open the full image.
(Free) Super Resolution API[edit | edit source]
You can scale up using Super Resolution API as well (https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/torch-srgan) which uses machine learning for better results. Just upload your image and it'll give you an upscaled version! Use it multiple times if you need larger pictures ;).
Unfortunately here you can't choose a specific size, so here is the default upscale run once (4x), and then twice (16x original).
Gigapixel[edit | edit source]
Paid software also exists in this space - Topaz Lab's Gigapixel is one such AI upscaler (https://www.topazlabs.com/gigapixel-ai). By default it will only use AI up to 6x, and a normal upscale past that. You can, just like Super Resolution, upscale with AI multiple times for the size you desire. It also has several modes - here I've used the default but there are many many knobs and dials to play with. Here are two examples - one with default settings to 10X directly (AI to 6x, then normal to 10x), and one in 2 steps (5x followed by 2x).
Photoshop[edit | edit source]
Another paid option is to use Photoshop, which has "Preserve Details Upscale" (https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/upscale-images-photoshop-cc-2018/ has some instructions), which works better than a basic upscale. There are less dials here, but more folks may have Photoshop than other paid options.
AI Image Upscaler[edit | edit source]
4x upscaler with 5 free credits per week, and like others can be run several times for better upscales.
Comparison[edit | edit source]
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