Getting started with Midjourney’s new character reference feature (cref): more stable same character across multiple scenes

When making serialized posters, storyboards, or multiple promo images of the same character, the biggest headache is that “the character looks different in every image.” Midjourney has added a new character reference parameter --cref, which can carry the character traits from a specified image into a new scene, making it easier for Midjourney to maintain the same person across different settings.

What exactly does Midjourney’s --cref solve?

In the past, every Midjourney generation leaned toward “random creation”—even with the same prompt, you could end up with different faces, body types, and outfits. Now, with --cref (character reference), you can first lock in a character, then have Midjourney place that character into a new environment to “shoot the next image.”

A reminder: this feature works better when you use character images generated by Midjourney itself as references; for real people or photographs, the result may not reach a “pixel-perfect replica.”

How to use Midjourney’s character reference --cref

The usage is straightforward: add --cref character-image URL at the end of your prompt. The URL can come from an image link you generated in Midjourney (open the image on the web or in Discord and copy the link).

Example:
/imagine a female detective on a neon-lit street on a rainy night, cinematic lighting, close-up --cref https://xxx.jpg

Use --cw to tune “how similar”: control everything from face to outfit

If you find the character “looks similar but the clothes are wrong,” or you want to keep the face but change the styling, use --cw (character weight) to fine-tune similarity. Range: 0–100, default 100.

A common rule of thumb: --cw 100 tends to reference face shape, hairstyle, and clothing together; --cw 0 tends to focus only on key facial features, which is suitable for changing hairstyles, outfits, or the era setting. When making a series, a common approach is to start with a high cw to lock in the character design, then gradually lower cw to introduce variations.

Practical tips: three small tricks to make Midjourney more stable

First, always put --cref at the end of the prompt; many errors come from reversing the position or missing a space. Second, when generating multiple images of the same character, try to keep camera terms (close-up/half-body/full-body), lighting terms, and aspect ratio consistent—Midjourney will be more “compliant.”

Third, if you have multiple reference images, you can try putting multiple URLs together in --cref for a blended reference, but it’s best to keep the number small and the reference styles consistent; otherwise, Midjourney may “average out” the features and end up looking less similar.