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Midjourney’s Character Reference, introduced on March 11, 2024, addressed one of generative image tools’ biggest weaknesses: a character could look completely different whenever the scene, pose, or clothing changed. The original V6 workflow used --cref. In the current V7 workflow, that feature has been replaced by Omni Reference, using --oref.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Both systems make characters—and, in V7, objects, vehicles, and creatures—more consistent across images. Neither guarantees an identical face, pixel-perfect clothing, or production-ready continuity.
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The short answer
- Historical V6 Character Reference: use
--cref IMAGE_URLand control its influence with--cw 0through--cw 100. - Current V7 Omni Reference: use
--oref IMAGE_URLand control its influence with--ow 1through--ow 1000. - Best use: storyboards, comics, children’s-book concepts, character sheets, advertising explorations, and game-concept art.
- Main limitation: the result is reference-guided consistency, not exact character cloning.
V7 became Midjourney’s default model in June 2025, so new users should generally learn Omni Reference rather than the older --cref workflow. See Midjourney’s Omni Reference documentation and its V7 announcement.
Why consistent characters matter
Repeating the same text prompt does not reliably reproduce the same face, hairstyle, body proportions, outfit, or accessories. That makes ordinary text-to-image generation difficult to use for sequential visual work.
A children’s-book illustrator may need the same child in a bedroom, a forest, and a classroom. A comic artist needs a hero to remain recognizable from panel to panel. Storyboarders, game designers, marketers, and social-media teams face the same problem whenever an image series changes location or action while retaining a central character.
Midjourney’s reference tools give the model a visual anchor. They do not create a mathematically locked character model, but they can carry broad traits into a new composition more reliably than text alone.
What Midjourney launched in March 2024
Midjourney introduced Character Reference on March 11, 2024, as a V6 feature. Users generated or selected a character, copied its image URL, and added that URL to a new Discord prompt with --cref. The feature was designed primarily to carry over facial features, hair, body type, and clothing.
A typical historical workflow looked like this:
a muscular bald man with a beard and an eye patchAfter selecting the preferred image, a user could create another scene:
wearing a white tuxedo, standing in a villa --cref IMAGE_URLThe --cw parameter controlled how strongly the character reference influenced the result:
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wearing a white tuxedo, standing in a villa --cref IMAGE_URL --cw 50The historical default was --cw 100. A high value tended to retain more of the reference’s overall appearance, including clothing and hair. A low value, such as --cw 0, focused mainly on the face and gave more freedom to change the outfit or hairstyle. The original launch guidance is documented by VentureBeat.
Character Reference worked best with a character generated by Midjourney. It was not intended to reproduce real people or photographs accurately, and even its strongest results could alter small details such as freckles, logos, jewelry, and costume markings.
Character Reference versus V7 Omni Reference
| Feature | Character Reference | Omni Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Model | V6 | V7 |
| Command | --cref IMAGE_URL |
--oref IMAGE_URL |
| Strength parameter | --cw 0–100 |
--ow 1–1000 |
| Primary purpose | Character traits | Characters, objects, vehicles, and creatures |
| Reference count | Could accept multiple image URLs | One reference image directly; that image may contain multiple characters |
Omni Reference is the current V7 successor to Character Reference. Its default weight is --ow 100, and Midjourney generally recommends staying below 400 unless there is a specific reason to go higher. That is guidance, not a hard limit.
Omni Reference uses twice the GPU time of a regular V7 image. This means twice the GPU usage does not automatically mean twice the subscription price, but it matters when generating many variations on a limited plan.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow to use Omni Reference on the Midjourney website
- Open Midjourney’s Imagine interface.
- Upload or add the image you want to use as the reference.
- Place it in the Omni Reference slot—not the ordinary Image Prompt or Style Reference slot.
- Write a text prompt describing the new scene, pose, clothing, camera angle, lighting, and composition.
- Adjust the Omni Strength slider if the character is too loose or too constrained.
- Generate several variations and select the closest result.
- Reuse the same master reference image for later scenes.
Keep a clean master image rather than repeatedly using a generated variation that has already drifted. A prominent, isolated subject is generally a better target than a crowded scene, tiny figure, or heavily obstructed face.
How to use Omni Reference in Discord
In Discord, provide a publicly accessible image URL after --oref:
a young astronaut walking through a flooded subway station --oref IMAGE_URLTo increase the reference influence:
a young astronaut walking through a flooded subway station --oref IMAGE_URL --ow 250If the image is stored locally, upload it to Discord first and copy its resulting URL. Supported reference formats include PNG, GIF, WEBP, JPG, and JPEG.
Rank #3
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What the prompt still needs to specify
An Omni Reference does not replace the written prompt. The reference supplies visual information, while the prompt tells Midjourney what should happen in the new image.
Describe:
- the character’s role or identity;
- pose and interaction;
- camera angle and framing;
- location and time of day;
- lighting;
- new clothing or props;
- art style or medium;
- the number of characters;
- aspect ratio.
For example:
editorial comic-book illustration of the same young woman, full body, riding a red bicycle through Tokyo at night, yellow raincoat, three-quarter view, neon reflections, clear facial features, cinematic composition --oref IMAGE_URL --ow 220 --ar 3:2Important traits should appear in both the reference and the text. Do not expect the model to infer a concealed object, an indistinct facial feature, or a tiny costume detail reliably.
Changing the style without losing the character
Midjourney separates several kinds of guidance:
- Omni Reference: the person, object, vehicle, or creature.
- Text prompt: the scene, action, pose, clothing, and composition.
- Style Reference: color palette, medium, texture, lighting, and general visual language.
- Personalization or Moodboards: personal visual preferences, where applicable.
Style Reference is not intended to copy the people or objects in its image. It can be combined with Omni Reference:
storybook illustration of a child exploring an enchanted forest --oref CHARACTER_URL --ow 250 --sref STYLE_URLStrong stylization can compete with identity guidance. If a high stylize value or experimental style overwhelms the character, simplify the art direction, reduce competing references, or increase Omni weight. Increasing the weight too far can instead restrict wardrobe and scene changes or introduce unwanted reference details.
How consistent is it really?
Omni Reference can preserve recognizable broad traits, but it does not promise facial-recognition-level identity preservation. Expect variation in:
- Faces: facial structure and expression may drift, especially in profile, extreme angles, heavy shadows, or small figures.
- Hair and proportions: hairstyle, body shape, and apparent age can change between scenes.
- Clothing: a high reference weight may retain the original outfit when you wanted a new one.
- Small details: logos, freckles, jewelry, lettering, and costume markings may be altered or omitted.
- Pose and perspective: the model may import the reference’s orientation or body position.
- Background elements: accessories, scenery, and color patterns can bleed into the new image.
Real people and photographs require particular caution. The original Character Reference guidance warned that the system was not designed to reproduce real individuals accurately. Neither --cref nor --oref should be treated as a dependable face-replacement or likeness-preservation tool.
Choosing an Omni weight
| Starting point | Use it when | Likely trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Low, roughly 50–150 | You want a new outfit, hairstyle, pose, or strong reinterpretation. | More face, hair, and proportion drift. |
| Medium, roughly 150–300 | You want a recognizable character in a substantially new scene. | A practical balance between continuity and freedom. |
| High, roughly 300–400+ | Silhouette, clothing, or object identity must remain close. | Less flexibility and greater risk of reference bleed. |
These are useful starting ranges, not guaranteed settings. Midjourney’s documented general advice is to keep Omni weight below 400 unless needed. Adjust one variable at a time so you can tell whether a change in weight, prompt, aspect ratio, or stylization actually helped.
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Common problems and fixes
The face keeps drifting
Use a clearer reference with the face large and unobstructed. Simplify the prompt, describe the key facial traits, reduce extreme angles and heavy stylization, and try a somewhat higher --ow. A completely stable face still cannot be guaranteed.
The old clothing keeps returning
Lower the Omni weight and state the replacement clothing explicitly. For example, write “bright yellow raincoat, no armor, no tuxedo” when appropriate. The lower-weight approach is especially relevant to the older --cw workflow, where --cw 0 emphasized the face over clothing.
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Use a cleaner, isolated reference. Remove background clutter and accessories that are not meant to carry over. Also check that another image prompt or style reference is not introducing the unwanted element.
Two characters become confused
Omni Reference accepts one image, but that image can contain multiple people. Identify them by position and action:
the woman on the left is handing a book to the man on the right --oref GROUP_REFERENCE_URL --ow 250Overlapping figures, similar appearances, and vague descriptions make separation harder. Expect more manual selection and regeneration in group scenes.
The result is too stylized
Reduce competing style instructions or stylization, use a simpler style reference, and increase Omni weight only as needed. A high weight cannot reliably restore every fine detail once the prompt is asking for a radically different visual treatment.
Recommended Free Tools
Vary Region, Pan, or Zoom Out is unavailable
Midjourney lists Omni Reference as incompatible with V6.1-based inpainting and outpainting, Vary Region, Pan, and Zoom Out results, as well as Fast Mode, Draft Mode, Conversational Mode, and --q 4. For editing, Midjourney says to load the image in the web Editor and remove the image reference plus the --oref or --ow parameters before editing.
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Is it suitable for professional production?
It is useful for visual development, mood boards, pitch art, rough storyboards, exploratory character sheets, and early campaign concepts. It can also provide a strong starting point for an illustrator who will redraw or retouch the final work.
It is a weaker choice when the deliverable requires exact likeness, frame-by-frame animation continuity, precise poses, untouched logos, guaranteed wardrobe continuity, reproducible outputs, local processing, or unlimited inexpensive iterations. A similar-looking image is not the same as a controlled production asset.
For a serious series, maintain:
- a single master reference image;
- prompt and parameter records;
- the model version used;
- selected outputs and rejected variations;
- a manual correction or repainting workflow;
- time for regeneration and retouching.
Alternatives to Midjourney
Leonardo.Ai
Leonardo’s Image Guidance includes character, content, and style-reference controls. Its documentation describes up to four reference-image options with independent weighting. That may suit users who need several separate visual controls, although more controls can bring a steeper learning curve and do not guarantee perfect identity consistency.
The Tool Desk
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Adobe has described Firefly custom models intended to preserve character features, lighting, color palettes, and stroke weight across generations. This is potentially a better fit for Adobe-centered teams building a repeatable custom visual identity, but it requires more preparation than attaching one Midjourney reference image. Availability and current terms should be checked on Adobe’s product pages.
Local and open-model workflows
Local diffusion workflows using reference controls or fine-tuning can offer greater repeatability, offline processing, and deeper customization. They also require compatible hardware, model management, technical setup, and ongoing maintenance. They are not a simple drop-in replacement for Midjourney’s hosted workflow.
Bottom line
Midjourney’s 2024 Character Reference launch was an important step toward keeping a character recognizable across generated images. Today, V7 Omni Reference is the relevant workflow: --oref attaches the reference and --ow controls its influence. It is excellent for fast, polished visual exploration, but professionals should plan for drift, manual selection, retouching, and the extra GPU time required by Omni Reference.
Quick Recap
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