You can turn on Expressive by typing /settings

First, select “niji version 5”

And then select “Expressive Style” from the list of options

Please take note that these instructions are for the niji・journey bot!

In order to use --style expressive with the Midjourney bot, check the bottom of this post for how to use /prefer suffix

Enjoy!!

Compared to default, characters drawn with Expressive will have a more mature look. You might like it if you enjoy a more western aesthetic for your anime pictures! While the default niji excels at consistency, this one shines at exploration. We’ll be talking about what that means below.

For this new style, we took concepts from 3D rendering and applied them to anime. Here’s the breakdown of style highlights.

1) “Realistic” eye style - Expressive features a more realistic eye stylization.

2) Subsurface Scattering - This is a phenomenon is commonly used in 3D graphics to calculate light’s effect on translucent objects. Expressive uses this technique to make skin feel fresh and beautiful.

3) Ambient Occlusion - This is used in 3D graphics to portray objects without the effect of light. Expressive style uses uses extremely well-placed ambient occlusion to create a sense of weight.

4) High chroma - The chroma of Expressive is more saturated than default, giving paintings a rich, warm look.

You might be wondering, why is this style not called “realistic,” but “expressive”? Previously, in 🍎 Introducing Niji 5! we had discussed synthesizing styles from “rules of art.”

For Expressive , we were curious how just exactly how abstract this blend of foundational art + anime could become.

To show what we mean, here is a side by side comparison of two images with the same concept.

The one above feels realistic, but the one below is very graphic. This range is possible because both images are obeying the 4 rules outlined, but in vastly different ways. Fascinating, isn’t it?

As a result, you’ll notice that “expressive” is capable of delivering a wide variety of stylizations. It’s perfect for exploring different looks for the same idea.

prompt: man at bar outside sunlight, foliage

On the same prompt, it maintains remarkable consistency in value, color, and overall “feel” of a scene , while operating only on the stylization. Even more anime-leaning prompts will deliver a wider range of results.

prompt: miku with hamburger

As we covered before in 🍎 Introducing Niji 5! You can turn the effects of style up and down by using the --s flag.

We’ve also implemented a helpful button in /settings to help you tune it up and down:

Changing between style low med, high, and very high will default the stylization to some set values that we’ve picked out for your convenience.

If you wish, you can also set a specific stylization value by using /prefer suffix command.

For example:

/prefer suffix --s 9 --niji 5 --style expressive

Will make your settings run for niji 5 at stylization 9

Do keep in mind that /prefer suffix requires you to type the full suffix, so if you have custom settings, you’ll need to copy those over. The list of settings you currently have active can be found on this line when you type /settings

You’ll have to do this if you’re using niji from Midjourney bot, since it doesn’t have a setting button for style.

Here is a demonstration of various prompts and the effect that Expressive imposes on them.

I hope you enjoy! Thank you for your continued support!

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