Guides · Guide · Midjourney V8.1
How to Match a Picture's Exact Art Style and Size in Midjourney
Match a picture's exact art style and size in Midjourney: read its style words, turn its pixels into --ar, then add --sref and --sw. Step by step, with a worked V8.1 example.
When people ask for a picture's "exact art style and size", they mean two separate things. The style is the medium, the light, the palette and the texture. The size is the picture's shape, its width against its height. Midjourney has a tool for each: --sref and --sw carry a style, and --ar sets the shape. Words from a decode tie them together.
Match a picture's style and size, step by step
- Decode the picture on AIKIZI to read its style words: the medium, the lighting, the palette and the texture.
- Measure its size: divide the width by the height and pick the nearest aspect ratio for --ar.
- Write your own subject first, then the style words from the decode.
- Add the style source with --sref, and --sv 4 or --sv 6 if the source is a numeric code.
- Set --sw: 100 lets your words lead, 300 to 500 lets the look govern. Re-roll and compare side by side.
The size: from pixels to --ar
Divide the width by the height and find the nearest ratio. --ar fixes the shape, not the pixel count; for an exact pixel size, resize the finished image to it.
| Width ÷ height | Use | Common for |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | --ar 1:1 | Square posts |
| 0.80 | --ar 4:5 | Portrait posts |
| 0.67 | --ar 2:3 | Print portraits |
| 0.56 | --ar 9:16 | Phone screens, stories, reels |
| 1.50 | --ar 3:2 | Photographs |
| 1.78 | --ar 16:9 | Video, desktop screens |
The style: words, a reference and a weight
A decode gives you the words; a reference gives you the look the words cannot hold. --sref takes a style source: a numeric style code or the web address of a picture. Numeric codes only resolve under style versions --sv 4 and --sv 6. The range of --sw is 0 to 1000 and the default is 100.
A worked example: Cobalt Cipher
Cobalt Cipher is a Midjourney V8.1 portrait from the AIKIZI gallery. Its file is 1648 pixels wide and 2944 tall: 1648 ÷ 2944 is 0.56, so its shape is --ar 9:16.
Its decode reads a base of traditional woodcut printmaking, with cyberpunk manga illustration, chiaroscuro digital rendering and biomechanical graphic ornamentation on top. It was made with two style references at --sw 300, with --raw and --stylize 1000, on --v 8.1.
So a prompt for your own subject in its style and size reads like this, with the style source you choose in place of the brackets:
Its own two references are locked on its decode page. Unlock this style's code for 5 credits on a Pro plan, or use a reference of your own.
Where to go next
Decode a picture to read its style words and size. For how --sref and --sw behave, with seven more real V8.1 styles, read the best Midjourney sref codes of 2026. To compare two pictures' looks side by side in your browser, try Style DNA in the Lab.
Google sign-in. 5 credits on sign-up, enough for your first decode.
FAQ
How do I match a picture's exact art style and size in Midjourney?
Decode the picture on AIKIZI to read its style words: the medium, the lighting, the palette and the texture. Measure its size: divide the width by the height and pick the nearest aspect ratio for --ar.
Does --ar set the exact pixel size in Midjourney?
--ar fixes the shape, not the pixel count; for an exact pixel size, resize the finished image to it.
What --sw should I use to match a style?
Set --sw: 100 lets your words lead, 300 to 500 lets the look govern.
Which --ar matches a 1648 × 2944 picture?
Its file is 1648 pixels wide and 2944 tall: 1648 ÷ 2944 is 0.56, so its shape is --ar 9:16.