Midjourney rolled out its inpainting feature in September to much fanfare from the AI art community. The reason for the chatter was not far-fetched. With Midjourney Inpanting, users can finally manipulate newly created or existing images, reconstruct certain elements, introduce items, or simply reimagine an initial concept. The opportunities that inpainting on Midjourney opens up for AI image creation are practically limitless and vastly under-tapped by most creators. For instance, creators can finally use this feature to make the Midjourney bot write legible text, a core weakness for the AI image generator. Additionally, users can do inpainting with new pictures generated with Midjourney or images saved on the computers. This article explores all these possibilities by providing a guide on how inpainting works in Midjourney. First, readers will learn about the concept of inpainting in AI graphics creation. Most importantly, we dive deep into Midjourney Inpainting, including a step-by-step guide on getting it done and several examples to help you along the way. In the end, you would have become a Midjourney Inpainting Pro. Let’s dive right in.
Inpainting refers to the process of editing images to restore missing elements or fix errors. The term originally applied in the traditional art world, where human artists took on the job of restoring old or damaged paintings. However, AI tools like Midjourney are redefining inpainting as we know it. These days, creators can go beyond restoring missing elements or fixing errors. Midjourney inpainting allows users to render new objects into images and transform existing photos into a masterpiece. Like every other advanced Midjourney feature, users require a paid version to make the most out of Inpainting. Yet, the thrilling results show how Inpainting can be a massive asset for creatives.
To get the most out of inpainting with Midjourney, you need to turn on Remix Mode from your Midjourney Settings. Type the /settings command in the newbie or general channel on the Midjourney Discord. Next, enable Remix Mode, as shown below. 
Enabling this setting makes a significant difference, as it unlocks more editing capabilities when you do inpainting. Here’s a snapshot of the Midjourney bot without Remix Mode enabled and with Remix Mode enabled.
Before
After
The primary difference between both modes is that when Remix Mode is turned off, the Midjourney bot will determine the best way to change any section of your image that you select for editing. However, with Remix Mode turned on, you can modify prompts to alter any image you create on Midjourney. Now that you have Remix Mode turned on, you can access the inpainting panel on Midjourney anytime if you follow the steps below.
Let’s run through some examples of what you can achieve with Midjourney inpainting. We tried multiple approaches and different concepts.
Prompt: photo, 20yo woman in park, Nikon D850 Modified Prompt With Changed Background: photo, 20yo woman in urban setting, Nikon D850
Initial Prompt: realistic photo of a male model in a blue Nike tracksuit, urban street photography Modified Prompt With Changed Clothes: realistic photo of a male model in Armani's suit, urban street photography
Initial Prompt: Sleek, modern smartphone with a striking reflective surface, minimalist product photography, angled perspective, soft ambient lighting Modified Prompt After Highlighting Phone Screen Display: Sleek, modern smartphone with a striking reflective surface and screen displaying a game, minimalist product photography, angled perspective, soft ambient lighting
Initial prompt: A majestic mountain range covered in snow, shot from a drone's aerial perspective Modified Prompt With A Flag In View: A majestic mountain range covered in snow, with an American national flag in view, shot from a drone's aerial perspective.
In this example, we tried to combine two images using Midjourney’s inpainting panel. First, we generated the image below of a 30-year-old man using the prompt outlined next. Prompt: a full view photo of a 30yo man standing on a street alone
Next, we created the below scenery of a forest with a meandering river using the below prompt. Prompt: a forest scene with a meandering river
To combine both images, go to midjourney.app and obtain the URL for the first image, as shown in the screenshot. With the image URL copied to your clipboard, open the Midjourney Inpainting panel for the forest view image. Highlight the portion of the picture where you want the other image to appear. Next, paste the image URL and a short prompt defining the object's relationship to the image. In our case, we used “a visitor to the forest,” as shown below. Here’s a result of our Midjourney inpainting! 
The concept in our last example can also combine images on your computer with an AI one. To achieve this, simply upload your preferred image to the Midjourney bot via Discord, copy the link to the image from midjourney.app, and then repeat the same steps.
Overall, inpainting is an intriguing process that has served the traditional art world for decades. Having this feature in the AI art world in these early days underlines the tremendous progress that the industry has made in the past few years. Meanwhile, Midjourney’s Inpainting feature already offers excellent solutions. Users can significantly alter image contexts, add new elements, and combine two images. With time and practice, we believe anyone can make the most of Midjourney inpainting and produce stunning pieces.
