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Kevin Leneway’s two favorite AI tools solve different bottlenecks: Cursor speeds up software development, while Midjourney speeds up visual exploration and asset production. Leneway, a principal software engineer at Pioneer Square Labs (PSL), described that pairing in a GeekWire profile published August 14, 2025. His experience is a useful practitioner example—not a controlled review or proof that either tool is best for every creator.
This updated guide explains what Leneway said, what the tools currently do, and how founders, developers, designers and game makers can use them without confusing faster output with finished work.
The builder behind the toolbox
PSL helps build and launch startups, so Leneway works in an environment where rapid prototypes, cross-functional collaboration and frequent product changes matter. In GeekWire’s “AI Toolbox” feature, he said he spends most of his day in Cursor and has developed a workflow that makes building new products faster. He also uses Midjourney to create assets for a throwback choose-your-own-adventure game made during the Bolt Hackathon.
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Those details establish his preferences and examples, not a benchmark. The short interview does not document his exact prompts, model choices, repository conventions, settings or review process. The practical lessons below separate his reported use from a workflow a responsible team can adopt.
Read the original GeekWire profile.
Cursor: an AI coding environment
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor designed to work inside a real repository rather than only answering isolated questions in a browser. It can search a codebase, explain relationships between files, suggest completions, edit multiple files and help diagnose errors.
Its current modes make the level of control explicit:
- Ask: read-only exploration and answers about the codebase.
- Agent: autonomous exploration, multi-file edits, command execution and attempts to fix resulting errors.
- Custom modes: user-defined combinations of instructions and tool permissions.
Cursor also offers model selection, an Auto option and Max Mode for larger context windows. These controls are useful because a quick completion, a code explanation and a broad refactor are different jobs with different risk and cost profiles. See the modes documentation and model documentation.
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- Large Active Drawing Space: UGEE M708 V3 graphic drawing tablet features 10 x 6 inch large active drawing space with papery texture surface, provides enormous and smooth drawing for your digital artwork creation, offers no-lag sketch and painting experience
- 16384 Passive Stylus Technology: A more affordable passive stylus technology offers 16384 levels of pressure sensitivity allows you to draw accurate lines of any weight and opacity according to the pressure you apply to the pen, sharper line with light pressure and thick line with hard pressure for artistry design or unique brush effect for photo retouching
- Compatible with Multiple System and Softwares: Powerful compatibility, tablet for drawing computer, perform well with Windows 11/10/8/7, Mac OS X 10.10 or later, Android 10.0 or later, mac OS 10.12 or later, Chrome OS 88 or later and Linux; Driver program works with creative software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Macromedia Flash, Comic Studio, SAI, Infinite Stratos, 3D MAX, Autodesk MAYA, Pixologic ZBrush and more
- Ergonomically Designed Shortcuts: 8 customizable express keys on the side for short cuts like eraser, zoom in and out, scrolling and undo, provide a lot more for convenience and helps to improve the productivity and efficiency when creating with the drawing tablet
- Easy Connectivity for Beginners: The UGEE M708 V3 offers USB to USB-C connectivity, plus adapters for USB C, ensuring easy connection to various devices and allowing beginner artists to set up quickly and focus on their creativity without compatibility concerns; Whether using a laptop, desktop, chromebook, or tablet, the UGEE M708 V3 provides a seamless experience for those just starting their digital art journey
A review-first Cursor workflow
Leneway did not publish a reproducible recipe. A sensible workflow for the kind of product building he describes is:
- Orient the assistant. State the repository structure, relevant files, existing conventions, desired behavior and constraints.
- Plan before editing. Ask for likely files, dependencies, risks and tests using a read-only or planning interaction.
- Make a narrow change. A small, inspectable task is safer than “rewrite the application.” Keep diffs or commits easy to review.
- Run tests and inspect the output. Treat generated code as a draft. Ask the agent to explain a failure instead of accepting repeated blind retries.
- Review security and product assumptions. Check authentication, authorization, validation, migrations, API calls, secrets, error handling and data exposure yourself.
- Keep architecture human-led. Cursor can implement quickly, but it cannot decide your business priorities, acceptable production risk or long-term maintenance strategy.
Common failure modes include confident but incorrect code, over-broad edits, unnecessary dependencies, outdated APIs, superficial tests and context overload in a large repository. A working demo is evidence that a path executes—not evidence that it is secure, maintainable or suitable for production.
Cursor cost and privacy
Cursor’s current commercial structure is usage-sensitive. Its pricing page lists a free Hobby tier, Pro at $20 per month and Teams beginning at $40 per user per month. Included agent usage depends on the model’s inference cost; additional usage can be billed after the included amount is consumed. Long context, Max Mode and intensive agent sessions can use allowance faster than ordinary autocomplete. Check the current plans and usage documentation before estimating a fixed monthly cost.
Cursor offers a Privacy Mode setting and says that, when enabled, code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers. That setting is not a substitute for a security, compliance or legal review. Confirm what data may leave your environment, how retention works and whether your organization permits the workflow.
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- Word-first 16K Pressure Levels: The upgraded stylus features 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity and supports up to 60 degrees of tilt, delivering smoother lines and shading for a natural drawing experience. With no battery or charging needed, it operates like a real pen, making it easy for beginners to create effortlessly. This functionality helps novice artists develop their skills and explore their creativity without the intimidation of complex tools
- Designed for Beginners: This drawing pad desinged with 8 customizable shortcuts for both right and left-hand users, express keys create a highly ergonomic and convenient work platform
- Perfectly Adapted for Android: The XPPen Deco 01 V3 art tablet supports connections with Android devices running version 10.0 and above. It is recommended to download the XPPen Tools Android application, which adapts to your smartphone's screen aspect ratio, ensuring accurate mapping. It also supports mapping on Android screens with different aspect ratios in portrait mode
- Large Drawing Space, Bigger Bold Inspiration: This expansive drawing pad has10 x 6.25-inch helps you break through the limit between shortcut keys and drawing area
- Easy Connectivity for Beginners: The Deco 01 V3 offers USB-C to USB-C connectivity, plus adapters for USB C. This ensures easy connection to various devices, allowing beginner artists to set up quickly and focus on their creativity without compatibility concerns. Whether using a laptop, tablet, or desktop, the Deco 01 V3 provides a seamless experience, making it an ideal choice for those just starting their digital art journey
Midjourney: rapid visual development
Leneway used Midjourney for a concrete production task: generating visual assets for a game. That is a more useful framing than treating it only as a novelty image generator. It can help a small team explore characters, environments, props, moodboards, marketing illustrations and storyboard directions before commissioning or producing final art.
Leneway also praised Midjourney’s video quality, but that is his personal assessment rather than a controlled comparison. The current platform can turn a starting image into a five-second video, with an optional text prompt to guide motion. All plans can generate video in Fast Mode; Relax Mode for video is limited to Pro and Mega plans. Short clips are well suited to concept reels, social posts, pitch material and prototypes, not automatically to finished cinematics. See the official video documentation.
Why Omni Reference matters
Generative image systems often change a character’s face, clothing or proportions from one image to the next. Midjourney’s V7 Omni Reference is designed to carry a character, object, vehicle or creature from a reference image into a new generation. That makes it useful for:
- character sheets and recurring protagonists;
- multiple scenes in a game or story;
- inventory items, mascots and product mockups;
- marketing variations and visual storyboards.
Omni Reference requires a text prompt, can be combined with style references, image prompts, personalization, moodboards and stylization, and uses twice the GPU time of a regular V7 image. It is not compatible with several V6.1 editing functions, including inpainting and outpainting. Most importantly, it improves continuity without guaranteeing pixel-perfect identity. Art direction, selection, cleanup, compositing and layout remain necessary. Consult the Omni Reference documentation; older tutorials may use the separate “Character Reference” terminology.
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- NOTE: You can easily connect your phone to the art tablet via the OTG connector; while iPhone and iPad are NOT at the moment. The cursor will not show up in the SAMSUNG Galaxy S series at present. If you are not sure whether the product is compatible with your Phone or any help, please contact us.
Midjourney’s limits for finished artwork
Expect character drift, style variation, unwanted artifacts and weak lettering. Image-to-video may animate the wrong element or create awkward transitions. Omni Reference and video consume more GPU capacity than ordinary image generation, and some features cannot be combined. Users who need exact typography, layered source files, precise animation timing, guaranteed identity or lower-tier private generation may be better served by conventional illustration, compositing or animation software.
Rights and likeness questions also require judgment. Do not assume an output is automatically safe for a trademark, a recognizable person, a copyrighted character or every commercial use. Review the relevant terms and obtain human legal advice for consequential projects.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Cursor and Midjourney fit together
These tools are not competitors. They address separate stages of a builder’s workflow:
| Product stage | Cursor | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | Turns requirements into technical plans and prototypes | Explores characters, environments, tone and visual language |
| Prototype | Generates, refactors and debugs software | Supplies temporary game, interface or marketing assets |
| Iteration | Changes implementation quickly | Produces visual variations quickly |
| Communication | Creates a working demo | Creates pitch, moodboard and campaign material |
| Primary risk | Incorrect, insecure or poorly structured code | Inconsistent, legally risky or unusable visual output |
A practical combined loop
- Define the product or game’s behavior, audience and constraints.
- Use Midjourney to explore visual directions and reference subjects; label images as concepts until they pass review.
- Use Cursor to build a narrow, playable or interactive prototype around those decisions.
- Test the prototype with real users or teammates and record what is confusing or unnecessary.
- Generate revised assets and implementation changes in small batches.
- Before release, conduct code review, security checks, asset cleanup, rights review and a production-feasibility assessment.
Who should try each tool?
Cursor is a strong fit when you:
- maintain a real codebase and frequently prototype;
- want codebase search, multi-file edits and model choice in one editor;
- can review generated code and run tests;
- accept usage that varies with model and agent activity.
It may be a poor fit if you rarely code, need strictly predictable costs, handle sensitive repositories without approved data controls, or expect production-ready changes without supervision. A conventional IDE with a separate assistant may offer stricter boundaries or fit an existing enterprise standard better.
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- Customize Your Workflow: The 6 customizable press keys on Huion H640P drawing tablet for pc let you assign your most-used commands—like undo, zoom, brush switch, or save—so you can keep your hands on the tablet and your mind on the art. Whether you're a digital painter switching brushes, or a comic artist zooming in and out, these keys keep your workflow smooth and uninterrupted. Plus, the Huion driver lets you save different shortcut profiles for different apps, so you never have to reconfigure when switching software.
- Professional Pen Performance: Huion H640P drawing pad for computer comes with the battery-free PW100 stylus that's always ready when inspiration strikes. With 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, every light sketch, or bold stroke responds naturally to your hand—just like a real pen. The 5080 LPI resolution and 233 PPS report rate deliver lag-free, precise strokes, so you can draw confidently without second-guessing your cursor. The pen side buttons help you switch between pen and eraser instantly.
- Compact and Portable: Huion H640P computer graphics tablet features a compact, ultra-portable design at just 0.3 inches thin and 0.61 lbs light, so it slides easily into your backpack—perfect for sketching in coffee shops, taking notes in class, or editing on the go between home and studio. The 6x4 inch active area offers enough room for natural pen movements while fitting comfortably on crowded desks, or lecture hall seats.
- Stable Compatibility: Huion H640P graphic drawing tablet works seamlessly with Mac, Windows, Linux PCs, and Android smartphones/tablets (OS version 6.0 or later). Left-handed friendly, and you just need to flip the tablet and adjust the settings in the driver. Please note: H640P does NOT support iPhone/iPad.
- Move Beyond the Mouse: Huion Inspiroy H640P is a pen tablet that replaces your mouse for more natural, precise control. Freehand draw, take notes, or even play OSU—everything you do with a mouse, you can do better with a pen. The precise tip makes it ideal for detailed photo editing, graphic design, or signing PDF. Meanwhile, the ergonomic pen grip helps you avoid the strain that comes from hours of using a mouse.
Midjourney is a strong fit when you:
- need many visual directions quickly;
- are making a game-jam project, pitch, story, campaign or moodboard;
- can provide art direction and clean up selected outputs;
- value breadth and speed over editable, layered source files.
It may be a poor fit when brand compliance, exact layout, reliable geometry, guaranteed continuity, private generation or precise animation control is non-negotiable.
Current Midjourney plan signals
Midjourney’s plan comparison currently lists Basic at $10 per month, Standard at $30, Pro at $60 and Mega at $120, with annual billing shown at a 20% discount. Unlimited image Relax Mode begins with Standard; unlimited video Relax Mode is limited to Pro and Mega. Stealth Mode is available only on Pro and Mega. Prices and entitlements can change, so verify them on the official plan page.
What these tools cannot replace
Neither subscription supplies architecture, testing discipline, security review, art direction, brand governance, legal clearance or product judgment. Leneway’s recommendation is best understood as a workflow pairing: Cursor accelerates implementation and Midjourney accelerates visual exploration. The value appears only when a human team supplies the decisions, review and finishing work between those fast iterations.
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