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Creating Various Icon Styles with Midjourney (Prompts Revealed!)

Creating Transparent Icons with Midjourney?

Let's cut to the chase: Services based on stable diffusion models like Midjourney are unable to create images with transparent PNG backgrounds.

The reason for this is rooted in the structure and dataset of the stable diffusion model. Typically, the datasets trained on Midjourney only contain RGB channels. Translation: The images include the background too. Realistically, it wouldn't have been feasible to train an extensive dataset with only transparent PNG images.

Additionally, creating images with transparent backgrounds requires an Alpha channel that carries transparency information, which stable diffusion models do not support.

If Midjourney were to directly support the creation of images with transparent backgrounds in the future, I imagine the solution would involve generating images with solid backgrounds and then removing the background through an additional process, rather than altering the stable diffusion model itself.

But just because Midjourney doesn't provide transparent PNGs, that doesn't mean we throw in the towel. In this post, I'll share actual prompts you can use right away for your website or YouTube content, as well as techniques for creating transparent icons, using Midjourney.

Midjourney Prompts for Creating Useful Icons

Inside VideoStew, we are currently researching a direct vector icon generation feature. In the process, we've researched various famous image generation AIs, from Midjourney to DALL-E 3. Here, I unveil the carefully crafted prompts, complete with example images, that we've developed in our research! (For consistency, all prompts are designed to create a "bag.")

Line Drawing Style Icon Prompts

This prompt allows you to create icons with a pencil sketch feel, as seen in the image above. Replace the [word] section at the very front with the desired term. A combination of 2-3 words works seamlessly.

[Word],coloring book page, black and white

Simple Vector Icon Prompts

This vector icon prompt can be universally employed, be it for your website landing page, video production requiring diagrams, or PowerPoint tasks. Just like the former, simply replace the [word] part with your chosen term.

[Word], Minimalistic vector and simple typography art, internet flow vector illustration, flat style. Technology, social media, presentation shape concept. Isolated on white background --s 20 --v 5

Elaborate Ballpoint Sketch Icon Prompts

This prompt will help you create finely sketched icons. The key difference from the line drawing is the proper inclusion of shades and colors.

[Word], Sketchy Ink Drawing on white background, illustration clipart that resembles a sketchy ink drawing, with loose, expressive lines and a hand-drawn appearance --q 2 --v 5

Cute Vector Icon Prompts

Notice the 'kawaii' in these adorable colored icon prompts. If you prefer a more monochromatic look, you can remove 'vibrant colors.'

[Word], White background: discreet and minimalist, a cute, kawaii, vector isolated on white background, vibrant colors, lisa frank style, clipart --q 2 --v 5

Colorful 3D Icon Prompts

Perfect for explanatory videos, these prompts are for generating luxurious 3D icons. I personally adore these, hence saving them for the grand finale.

[Word], icon, displayed on a white background, in the style of light yellow and light magenta, hyper-realistic atmospheres, vfxfriday, isometric, tilt-shift lenses, bold character designs, light red and cyan --v 5.2

Removing Background Color for Transparent PNGs

Since VideoStew lacks professional image editing features for now, you'll need external solutions for background removal. My go-to is remove.bg. Although high-quality outputs require a paid subscription, you can download 500x500 images for free, which is ample for icons in 1920x1080 resolution videos.

< Using remove.bg to clip out the background >

This service is straightforward—simply upload an image and hit download, so we'll skip further ado.

Wrapping Up

Research on vector icon generation continues at VideoStew. We'll keep striving to eventually offer all these features within our video editor. For now, I hope you find these research insights beneficial. Honestly, the initial hype about generative AI has settled, and the focus now is on the practical application for quality work. Icons are particularly handy; it's often more challenging to find an appropriate icon than a fitting background due to the variable of style. Hence, these prompts could offer significant time efficiency for your projects.

These days, my fascination is with the generation of characters in various poses. My goal is to create consistent images for storytelling videos that easily incorporate fitting poses. It's still a challenge to maintain style while producing diverse variations, but I'm eager to finalize this research and share the results soon!