Until recently, finding a style in Midjourney meant this: type a prompt, add some --sref code, look, adjust, generate again. Dozens of attempts to land on something you actually want to repeat. Draft Mode combined with --sref random - a feature added in Midjourney v8.1[1] - turns that into a single query.
Instead of one polished result, you get a broad survey - and only then pick what to develop further.
How it works
Add --sref random to your prompt and switch on Draft Mode (the toggle or the --draft flag). In one pass you get 24 images, each in a different, randomly generated style - and 24 fresh sref codes, one per image[1]. No extra parameters controlling the range - the system samples styles on its own. The same rule applies with permutations and repeats: every generated image still gets its own separate style code[2].
Example - instead of writing a separate prompt for every style, one is enough:
portrait of a fox in a forest --sref random --draftThat single query produces 24 completely different treatments of the same fox - and 24 codes you can save for later.
Screenshot of the Midjourney Style Creator interface - one prompt, a dozen directions at once
What it costs and what the quality looks like
Draft Mode generates images at 512×512 px, for 0.4 GPU-minutes of fast-hour credit for the whole batch of 24 - roughly ten times faster than a normal generation and about half the cost of one standard job[3]. The lower resolution is a deliberate trade-off: Draft Mode is built for a quick survey of directions, not for final files.
Once you find a style you like, the standard path is Draft → pick a favourite → Vary, to regenerate it at full resolution[3]. The 24-image survey itself stays a sketch - only what you actually decide to develop further goes to full quality.
From "ooh, that one" to a finished set
When one of the 24 results catches your eye, click it and generate more images in that same style using its sref code. That's the bridge from a lucky hit to a consistent series - exactly what used to require manually saving and testing codes one at a time.
This is what narrowing down looks like - from a dozen directions to one refined style
And here's what it can look like once you take a chosen direction all the way:
Image generated by AI (Midjourney)
Why this matters
This is exactly the philosophy I've written about here from the start: minimum words, maximum effect. You no longer need to be able to describe the style you're still looking for - you just need to recognise it when you see it.
I've kept one rule for years myself, regardless of the tool: I don't wait for inspiration, I treat discovering new directions as a daily practice, not a one-off burst. Draft Mode and --sref random don't replace that discipline - they speed up its most tedious part, the searching itself. It's a tool for doing something new every day more cheaply and faster, not a substitute for the regularity itself. If you want a refresher on what --sref and Draft Mode actually are, both terms are in the glossary.
Want to try this live, on your own project? Book a consultation.