Over the past year, FM players have complained a lot about how good (or rather not good) the game’s newgen faces are, to the point where some have chosen to turn off newgen faces altogether. Several content creators jumped into the gap and started creating custom newgen faces. The rise of AI artwork has given every manager a chance to create custom newgen faces, such as these.

I’m steering clear of the moral implications of AI art; I’m not claiming these faces are your creations, and I’m not trying to rob a creator by providing free-of-charge competition to their work. It’s merely a way to have a few custom newgen faces, just the way you like them, nothing more, nothing less. I will try to guide you through creating these faces in this brief guide.

Step 1; setting up Midjourney

The whole process starts with setting up Midjourney.

Step 1a: Discord

Make sure you have a Discord login. Midjourney works entirely on Discord, so you’ll need an account there to use it. Signing up for Discord is also free if you haven’t done it yet.

Step 1b: the Midjourney website

Visit the Midjourney website. Here, choose Join the beta. This will automatically take you to a Discord invite.

Step 1c: the invite

Accept the Discord invite to Midjourney. Choose to Continue to Discord.

Step 1d: locate the server

Your Discord app will not automatically open. When it does, select the ship-like Midjourney icon on the left menu.

Step 1e: locate the newcomer rooms

In the Midjourney channels, locate the Newcomer rooms. There will typically be a number of newcomer rooms open, with names like “newbies-108.” You can select any of these to begin.

Step 2: using Midjourney

Once you have set up Midjournet, you can start creating your custom faces. Before you get started, note that you only have a certain number of prompt options available as part of your free trial. You can create around 25 free images. After that, you’ll have to purchase a full membership to continue. If you would rather not spend money, it’s a good idea to take some time and think about what you want to create on Midjourney. If you want, you can type “/help” to get a list of tips.

Step 2a: getting started

When ready, type “/imagine” in the Discord chat for your newbies room. This will create a prompt field where you can type the image description. The more precise you can be with your description, the better the AI will produce good results. Be descriptive, and if there’s a particular style that you are looking for, include it in your description. There are terms of conduct to follow here, but if you keep things clean, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. When finished, select Enter to send your prompt.

These are some of the prompts I use:

• /imagine prompt ultra realistic 8k, Latin American footballer, shaved head, tattooed head, portrait
• /imagine prompt ultra realistic 8k, English Caucasian Footballer, blonde hair colour, fringe hairstyle, portrait
• /imagine prompt ultra realistic 8k, Asian footballer, Japan, raven-black slicked back oily hair, white shirt, portrait, sparkling eyes, happy face
• /imagine prompt link ultra realistic 8k, Latin American footballer, Uruguayan, raven-black hair, fauxhawk, goatee, diamond ear stud, tattooed neck, white shirt, portrait, hard eyes, grim face

One of the first commands in your prompt can be a link to an existing picture somewhere on the internet to further guide the creation process.

Step 2b: wait

Give Midjourney a minute to generate your images. Typically, the AI will create several different versions based on your description.

You now have a number of options to continue.

Look below the images; you’ll see a section of U and V buttons labelled 1 through 4.

The numbers correspond to the four images that Midjourney produced. Choosing U will upscale that particular image into a larger, more defined version. Choosing V will create an all-new image based on the present image that you choose. You will also see a refresh button on the side to request a new set of images. Remember that these choices will use up some available free prompts, so only do it if you want to proceed.

If you find an image you like and choose U to upscale it, you will be given a new set of options. You can choose to Make variations on that image, Upscale to max before you download, or choose a Light upscale redo if it’s not quite what you wanted, among other options.

When finished, you can DM the image directly to yourself by selecting the Envelope emoji and adding it to your chat. That allows you to save and download the image whenever you want.

Step 3; Remove.bg

Once you have extracted the image you want from Midjourney, go to remove.bg, upload the file and remove the background. Download the new, backgroundless image.

Step 4; Applying the images to FM

Now that you have created your custom faces, it’s time to apply them to your FM save.

Step 4a; a new folder

In the My Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 23/graphics folder, create a new subfolder called faces.

Step 4b; moving the pictures

Move the pictures into this new folder.

Step 4c; rename the pictures

Get the player ID for the player you wish to give a new custom face and re-name your picture to match this ID.

If you don’t know a player’s ID, go to preferences, type ID in the search bar and tick the box to show screen ID’s. A player’s ID will show when you look up their profile. Re-name the image to match the ID.

Step 4d; the xml

Download fmXML and generate an xml-file for your custom faces.

Step 4e; clear the cache and reload the skin

In the preferences menu of FM, first, clear the cache of the game and then reload the skin.