Develop Reference

Java drawstring working fine in earlier part of the code to count points but doesn't work when to show game over [duplicate]

After learning that dispose() should be called on Graphics/Graphics2D object after use, I went about changing my game to incorporate this.
When I added g2d.dispose() in overridden paintComponent(Graphics g) of JPanel, my components which I added (extensions of JLabel class) where not rendered I was able to still click on them etc but they would not be painted.
I tested with a normal JLabel and JButton with same effect (though JButton is rendered when mouse is over it).
So my question is why does this happen?
Here is an SSCCE to demonstrate:
after uncommenting call to dispose() in paintComponent of MainMenuPanel class:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.event.FocusAdapter;
import java.awt.event.FocusEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Test {
public Test() {
try {
initComponents();
} catch (Exception ex) {
Logger.getLogger(Test.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Test();
}
});
}
private void initComponents() throws Exception {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setResizable(false);
MainMenuPanel mmp = new MainMenuPanel();
frame.add(mmp);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
class MainMenuPanel extends JPanel {
//create labels for Main Menu
private PopUpJLabel versusesModeLabel;
private PopUpJLabel singlePlayerModeLabel;
private PopUpJLabel optionsLabel;
private PopUpJLabel helpLabel;
private PopUpJLabel aboutLabel;
//create variable to hold background
private Image background;
private Dimension preferredDimensions;
public static String gameType;
public static final String SINGLE_PLAYER = "Single Player", VERSUS_MODE = "VS Mode";
/**
* Default constructor to initialize double buffered JPanel with
* GridBagLayout
*/
public MainMenuPanel() {
super(new GridBagLayout(), true);
try {
initComponents();
} catch (Exception ex) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Could not load main menu background!", "Main Menu Error: 0x004", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
System.exit(4);
}
}
/*
* Create JPanel and its components
*/
private void initComponents() throws Exception {
//set prefered size of JPanel
preferredDimensions = new Dimension(800, 600);
background = scaleImage(800, 600, ImageIO.read(new URL("http://photos.appleinsider.com/12.08.30-Java.jpg")));
//create label instances
singlePlayerModeLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Single Player Mode");
singlePlayerModeLabel.setEnabled(false);
versusesModeLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Versus Mode");
optionsLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Options");
helpLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Help");
aboutLabel = new PopUpJLabel("About");
//create new constraints for gridbag
GridBagConstraints gc = new GridBagConstraints();
gc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gc.ipady = 50;//vertical spacing
//add newGameLabel to panel with constraints
gc.gridx = 0;
gc.gridy = 0;
add(singlePlayerModeLabel, gc);
gc.gridy = 1;
add(versusesModeLabel, gc);
//add optionsLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 2;
add(optionsLabel, gc);
//add helpLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 3;
add(helpLabel, gc);
//add aboutLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 4;
add(aboutLabel, gc);
}
public static BufferedImage scaleImage(int w, int h, BufferedImage img) throws Exception {
BufferedImage bi;
//bi = new BufferedImage(w, h, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
bi = new BufferedImage(w, h, img.getType());
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) bi.createGraphics();
g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
g2d.addRenderingHints(new RenderingHints(RenderingHints.KEY_RENDERING, RenderingHints.VALUE_RENDER_QUALITY));
g2d.drawImage(img, 0, 0, w, h, null);
g2d.dispose();
return bi;
}
/*
* Will return the preffered size of JPanel
*/
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return preferredDimensions;
}
/*
* Will draw the background to JPanel with anti-aliasing on and quality rendering
*/
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics grphcs) {
super.paintComponent(grphcs);
//convert graphics object to graphics2d object
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) grphcs;
//set anti-aliasing on and rendering etc
//GamePanel.applyRenderHints(g2d);
//draw the image as the background
g2d.drawImage(background, 0, 0, null);
//g2d.dispose();//if I uncomment this no LAbels will be shown
}
}
class PopUpJLabel extends JLabel {
public final static Font defaultFont = new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, 50);
public final static Font hoverFont = new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 70);
PopUpJLabel(String text) {
super(text);
setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
setForeground(Color.ORANGE);
setFont(defaultFont);
//allow component to be focusable
setFocusable(true);
//add focus adapter to change fints when focus is gained or lost (used for transversing labels with keys)
addFocusListener(new FocusAdapter() {
#Override
public void focusGained(FocusEvent fe) {
super.focusGained(fe);
if (isEnabled()) {
setFont(getHoverFont());
}
}
#Override
public void focusLost(FocusEvent fe) {
super.focusLost(fe);
setFont(getDefaultFont());
}
});
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent me) {
super.mouseEntered(me);
if (isEnabled()) {
setFont(getHoverFont());
}
//call for focus mouse is over this component
requestFocusInWindow();
}
});
}
Font getDefaultFont() {
return defaultFont;
}
Font getHoverFont() {
return hoverFont;
}
}

The thing is that the Graphics context you are using in paintComponent is created and provided by the caller (the framework), which is also responsible for disposing of it.
You only need to dispose of Graphics when you actually create it yourself (for example by calling Component.getGraphics()). In your case, you're not creating it, you're just casting it, so do not call dispose in this case.

Because .dispose() releases your resources. Yes, everything.

Changing the thickness of a drawn line on JPanel with a ChangeListener on JSlider

I have a JSlider that specifies the thickness of a line drawn on a JPanel. I added a ChangeListener to it, so when the slider is changed, it should also change the thickness of the line. But when I do that, the thickness doesn't change and instead, I'm given a faded out line. When I don't have the ChangeListener, the initial color is a purple line. I don't understand what's going on.
This is in my main GUI class, it includes the JSlider and the ChangeListener:
final JSlider slider = new JSlider(SwingConstants.HORIZONTAL, 0, 20, 1);
slider.setMajorTickSpacing(5);
slider.setMinorTickSpacing(1);
slider.setPaintTicks(true);
slider.setPaintLabels(true);
slider.addChangeListener(new ChangeListener() {
public void stateChanged(final ChangeEvent theEvent) {
final int stroke = slider.getValue();
myDrawPanel.setStroke(stroke);
myDrawPanel.repaint();
}
});
And this is in another class where the line is being drawn:
public void setStroke(final int theStroke) {
myStroke = theStroke;
}
public void paintComponent(final Graphics theGraphics) {
super.paintComponent(theGraphics);
final Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) theGraphics;
// for better graphics display
g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING,
RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
g2d.setPaint(new Color(51, 0, 111));
g2d.setStroke(new BasicStroke(myStroke));
g2d.draw(new Line2D.Double(myX, myY, myXEnd, myYEnd));
for (Line2D l : myLines) {
g2d.draw(l);
}
}
And this is the outcome:
And this is what the line originally looked like when I hardcoded a line thickness number in my paintComponent method:

Seems to work okay for me, I guess the problem is somewhere else in the code you're not showing us
import java.awt.BasicStroke;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSlider;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeListener;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Example();
}
public Example() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new ControlPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class ControlPane extends JPanel {
public ControlPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
DrawPane pane = new DrawPane();
add(pane);
JSlider slider = new JSlider(0, 20, 1);
add(slider, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
slider.addChangeListener(new ChangeListener() {
#Override
public void stateChanged(ChangeEvent e) {
pane.setStroke(slider.getValue());
}
});
slider.setValue(1);
}
}
public class DrawPane extends JPanel {
private int myStroke = 1;
public DrawPane() {
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
public void setStroke(int myStroke) {
this.myStroke = myStroke;
repaint();
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
g2d.setStroke(new BasicStroke(myStroke));
g2d.drawLine(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
g2d.dispose();
}
}
}
Consider providing a runnable example which demonstrates your problem. This is not a code dump, but an example of what you are doing which highlights the problem you are having. This will result in less confusion and better responses

How to correctly put a jLabel in jPanel [duplicate]

After learning that dispose() should be called on Graphics/Graphics2D object after use, I went about changing my game to incorporate this.
When I added g2d.dispose() in overridden paintComponent(Graphics g) of JPanel, my components which I added (extensions of JLabel class) where not rendered I was able to still click on them etc but they would not be painted.
I tested with a normal JLabel and JButton with same effect (though JButton is rendered when mouse is over it).
So my question is why does this happen?
Here is an SSCCE to demonstrate:
after uncommenting call to dispose() in paintComponent of MainMenuPanel class:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.event.FocusAdapter;
import java.awt.event.FocusEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Test {
public Test() {
try {
initComponents();
} catch (Exception ex) {
Logger.getLogger(Test.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Test();
}
});
}
private void initComponents() throws Exception {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setResizable(false);
MainMenuPanel mmp = new MainMenuPanel();
frame.add(mmp);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
class MainMenuPanel extends JPanel {
//create labels for Main Menu
private PopUpJLabel versusesModeLabel;
private PopUpJLabel singlePlayerModeLabel;
private PopUpJLabel optionsLabel;
private PopUpJLabel helpLabel;
private PopUpJLabel aboutLabel;
//create variable to hold background
private Image background;
private Dimension preferredDimensions;
public static String gameType;
public static final String SINGLE_PLAYER = "Single Player", VERSUS_MODE = "VS Mode";
/**
* Default constructor to initialize double buffered JPanel with
* GridBagLayout
*/
public MainMenuPanel() {
super(new GridBagLayout(), true);
try {
initComponents();
} catch (Exception ex) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Could not load main menu background!", "Main Menu Error: 0x004", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
System.exit(4);
}
}
/*
* Create JPanel and its components
*/
private void initComponents() throws Exception {
//set prefered size of JPanel
preferredDimensions = new Dimension(800, 600);
background = scaleImage(800, 600, ImageIO.read(new URL("http://photos.appleinsider.com/12.08.30-Java.jpg")));
//create label instances
singlePlayerModeLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Single Player Mode");
singlePlayerModeLabel.setEnabled(false);
versusesModeLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Versus Mode");
optionsLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Options");
helpLabel = new PopUpJLabel("Help");
aboutLabel = new PopUpJLabel("About");
//create new constraints for gridbag
GridBagConstraints gc = new GridBagConstraints();
gc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gc.ipady = 50;//vertical spacing
//add newGameLabel to panel with constraints
gc.gridx = 0;
gc.gridy = 0;
add(singlePlayerModeLabel, gc);
gc.gridy = 1;
add(versusesModeLabel, gc);
//add optionsLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 2;
add(optionsLabel, gc);
//add helpLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 3;
add(helpLabel, gc);
//add aboutLabel to panel with constraints (x is the same)
gc.gridy = 4;
add(aboutLabel, gc);
}
public static BufferedImage scaleImage(int w, int h, BufferedImage img) throws Exception {
BufferedImage bi;
//bi = new BufferedImage(w, h, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
bi = new BufferedImage(w, h, img.getType());
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) bi.createGraphics();
g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
g2d.addRenderingHints(new RenderingHints(RenderingHints.KEY_RENDERING, RenderingHints.VALUE_RENDER_QUALITY));
g2d.drawImage(img, 0, 0, w, h, null);
g2d.dispose();
return bi;
}
/*
* Will return the preffered size of JPanel
*/
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return preferredDimensions;
}
/*
* Will draw the background to JPanel with anti-aliasing on and quality rendering
*/
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics grphcs) {
super.paintComponent(grphcs);
//convert graphics object to graphics2d object
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) grphcs;
//set anti-aliasing on and rendering etc
//GamePanel.applyRenderHints(g2d);
//draw the image as the background
g2d.drawImage(background, 0, 0, null);
//g2d.dispose();//if I uncomment this no LAbels will be shown
}
}
class PopUpJLabel extends JLabel {
public final static Font defaultFont = new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, 50);
public final static Font hoverFont = new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 70);
PopUpJLabel(String text) {
super(text);
setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
setForeground(Color.ORANGE);
setFont(defaultFont);
//allow component to be focusable
setFocusable(true);
//add focus adapter to change fints when focus is gained or lost (used for transversing labels with keys)
addFocusListener(new FocusAdapter() {
#Override
public void focusGained(FocusEvent fe) {
super.focusGained(fe);
if (isEnabled()) {
setFont(getHoverFont());
}
}
#Override
public void focusLost(FocusEvent fe) {
super.focusLost(fe);
setFont(getDefaultFont());
}
});
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent me) {
super.mouseEntered(me);
if (isEnabled()) {
setFont(getHoverFont());
}
//call for focus mouse is over this component
requestFocusInWindow();
}
});
}
Font getDefaultFont() {
return defaultFont;
}
Font getHoverFont() {
return hoverFont;
}
}

The thing is that the Graphics context you are using in paintComponent is created and provided by the caller (the framework), which is also responsible for disposing of it.
You only need to dispose of Graphics when you actually create it yourself (for example by calling Component.getGraphics()). In your case, you're not creating it, you're just casting it, so do not call dispose in this case.

Because .dispose() releases your resources. Yes, everything.

Adding Multiple Components In Seperate Classes to JFrame In Another Class

I have ran into a problem. The problem lies with adding multiple components to a JFrame, all within separate classes. I have to add the two components DrawBoard and QuestionBox into the JPanel 'panel' in the Board class. The DrawBoard and QuestionBox will both perform different functions.
The DrawBoard component should be 600x600 pixels, while the QuestionBox component should be 600x120 pixels. The DrawBoard is at the bottom and the QuestionBox sits at the top. I am not sure as to what layout to use.
When run I get this result.
Game class
package snake;
//This class is used to run the game.
public class Game {
/**
* #author HyperBlue
*/
public static Board board;
public static void main(String[] args) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
//Creates an object board from the Board() construct
board = new Board();
}
}
Board Class
public class Board implements ActionListener {
public DrawBoard drawBoard;
public QuestionBox questionBox;
public Timer ticker = new Timer(20, this);
public Board() {
Dimension dim = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Snake");
frame.pack();
Insets insets = frame.getInsets();
JPanel container = new JPanel();
questionBox = new QuestionBox();
drawBoard = new DrawBoard();
container.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
container.add(questionBox, BorderLayout.NORTH);
container.add(drawBoard, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(600+insets.left + insets.right, 720 +insets.bottom + insets.top));
frame.add(container);
//Sets the frame in middle of screen
frame.setLocation((dim.width / 2) - (frame.getWidth() / 2), (dim.height / 2) - (frame.getHeight() / 2));
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
DrawBoard Class
package snake;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
//Warnings will not be thrown (are suppressed).
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class DrawBoard extends JPanel{
public static Color yellow = new Color(13816442);
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(yellow);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 600, 600);
}
}
QuestionBox Class
package snake;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class QuestionBox extends JPanel{
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 600, 120);
}
}

Each component should be responsible for managing it's own size, you should start by overriding getPreferredSize of the panels and returning the size you would like to use.
You should also not rely on magic numbers, but instead should use actual physical values, for example, instead of
g.fillRect(0, 0, 600, 120);
You should use...
g.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test1();
}
public Test1() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public static class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(new DrawBoard());
add(new QuestionBox(), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
}
}
public static class DrawBoard extends JPanel {
public static Color yellow = new Color(13816442);
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(600, 600);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(yellow);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 600, 600);
}
}
public static class QuestionBox extends JPanel {
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(600, 120);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 600, 120);
}
}
}
You should also know that Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize(); is not the most reliable method for determining the visible screen area, as it does not take into account various OS elements, like the task bar or dock, which can take up screen space.

Painting issue in custom layered container?

So I am working on a project here that requires a custom JLayeredPane - like class.
It has two members 'ground' and 'foreground' that are JPanel and an background (Image) member.
The way it was supposed to show was that the background Image should have been drawn and then all the components of the ground on top of it and then foreground's components at the apex. So foreground covers up ground which covers up background. Background should be shown only at places that do not have a Component in ground and foreground or where there is transparency in the JPanels.
It's paint function goes like this:
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.drawImage(background, 0, 0, null);
ground.paint(g.create());
foreground.paint(g.create());
g.dispose();
}
But nothing like that happens. Just the background image gets painted and nothing else shows.
I have used System.out.println() function to check that ground and foreground actually hold components and they do. But they just don't show.
Can anyone help me here?

The most significant issue is you're not calling super.paint, which is preventing what ever was previously painted to the Graphics context from been cleared or any child components from been painted.
For painting the background, you should be using paintComponent, which is used to paint the background of the component.
If you need to paint under the child components, but above the background, you should still use paintComponent, but paint the background first and then the next layer. The components will be painted after paintComponent.
Painting over components is actually more complex
Take a closer look at Custom Painting and Painting in Swing and AWT
Updated based on code snippets
In Screen which extends from Container, you are doing...
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
GraphicsUtilities.drawPictureTiled(background, g);
paintComponents(g);
g.dispose();
}
Don't call paintComponents, super.paint has already done this.
Don't call dispose on a Graphics context you don't create
Based on the rest of the example code I have, you should be extending from JPanel and overriding paintComponent instead. This will allow you to put under the component layer
Because GroundPanel and ForeGroundPanel are both JPanels, there's no need to ever paint them yourself. In fact, you could simply use OverlayLayout or even a GridBagLayout and add them directly to the NestedScreen which is itself a container...
So, I stripped down you example code so I could get it working with the missing code as an example. I got a little more fancy and simply made a JPanel to act as the pause screen
This is all done by simply overlaying the components on top of each other using a GridBagLayout
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test1001 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test1001();
}
public Test1001() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
try {
NestedScreen screen = new NestedScreen();
screen.setBackgroundLayer(ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/Sky.png")));
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(screen);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (IOException exp) {
exp.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
public interface GraphicsEngineComponents {
}
public class NestedScreen extends Screen implements GraphicsEngineComponents {
GroundPanel ground;
ForeGroundPanel foreground;
private PausePane pausePane;
public NestedScreen() {
ground = new GroundPanel();
foreground = new ForeGroundPanel();
pausePane = new PausePane();
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.weightx = 1;
gbc.weighty = 1;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
add(pausePane, gbc);
add(foreground, gbc);
add(ground, gbc);
MouseAdapter handler = new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
pausePane.setVisible(!pausePane.isVisible());
}
};
addMouseListener(handler);
foreground.addMouseListener(handler);
ground.addMouseListener(handler);
}
public GroundPanel getGroundLayer() {
return ground;
}
public ForeGroundPanel getForegroundLayer() {
return foreground;
}
public void setBackgroundLayer(BufferedImage background) {
super.setBackgroundLayer(background);
}
public class GroundPanel extends JPanel {
public GroundPanel() {
setOpaque(false);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(0, getHeight() - 200, getWidth(), 200);
}
}
public class PausePane extends JPanel {
private JLabel label;
public PausePane() {
setVisible(false);
setOpaque(false);
setBackground(new Color(0, 0, 0, 128));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
label = new JLabel("Paused");
label.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
label.setVerticalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
Font font = label.getFont();
font = font.deriveFont(Font.BOLD, 48f);
label.setFont(font);
label.setForeground(Color.WHITE);
add(label);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(getBackground());
g.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
}
}
public class ForeGroundPanel extends JPanel {
private BufferedImage pony;
public ForeGroundPanel() {
setOpaque(false);
try {
pony = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/Pony.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (pony != null) {
int x = (getWidth() - pony.getWidth()) / 2;
int y = getHeight() - 200 - (pony.getHeight() / 2);
g.drawImage(pony, x, y, this);
}
}
}
}
public class Screen extends JPanel implements GraphicsEngineComponents {
private BufferedImage background;
public Screen() {
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return "Screen{" + "background=" + background + '}';
}
public BufferedImage getBackgroundPicture() {
return background;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return background == null ? super.getPreferredSize() : new Dimension(background.getWidth(), background.getHeight());
}
protected void setBackgroundLayer(BufferedImage background) {
if (background != null && background.getHeight() != 0 && background.getWidth() != 0) {
this.background = background;
}
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (background != null) {
g.drawImage(background, 0, 0, this);
}
}
}
}
Take a look at Painting in AWT and Swing and Performing Custom Painting to understand how painting works in Swing.
A basic idea would be to avoid using all these compound or nested components and instead, create an engine that can paint the layers directly onto a Graphics context, maybe even painting to a BufferedImage which you can the paint onto a single component...

There are a few ways you go about doing this. I'll just introduce one way.
Create a background panel where you paint the background image (in the example below, it is BackgroundPanel with the image only being the forresty background). Set that panel as the content pane to the frame.
Create another ground panel where you can also paint something (in the example below if it the GroundPanel with only the image of bugs bunny painted.
Create your foreground panel and add it to the ground panel. You can add your foreground components to it. (in the example below the foreground image is the grassy hill, and I also add a button to it
All the panels' opaque property should be set to false, as to allow the panel behind it to be shown under any transparency.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.InputMap;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class ThreeTier {
public static final int DIM_WIDTH = 600;
public static final int DIM_HEIGHT = 400;
private BufferedImage backgroundImage;
private BufferedImage groundImage;
private BufferedImage foregroundImage;
public ThreeTier() {
initImages();
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setContentPane(new BackgroundPanel());
frame.add(new GroundPanel());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private void initImages() {
try {
backgroundImage = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/resources/background.png"));
foregroundImage = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/resources/foreground.png"));
groundImage = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/resources/bugsBunny.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(ThreeTier.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
class BackgroundPanel extends JPanel {
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(backgroundImage, 0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT, this);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(ThreeTier.DIM_WIDTH, ThreeTier.DIM_HEIGHT);
}
}
class GroundPanel extends JPanel {
private static final String RIGHT_ACTION = "rightAction";
private int imageX = 50;
private int imageY = 140;
public GroundPanel() {
setOpaque(false);
add(new ForegroundPanel());
InputMap im = getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("RIGHT"), RIGHT_ACTION);
getActionMap().put(RIGHT_ACTION, new AbstractAction() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (imageX >= DIM_WIDTH) {
imageX = 0 - groundImage.getWidth();
repaint();
} else {
imageX += 10;
repaint();
}
}
});
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(groundImage, imageX, imageY, groundImage.getWidth(), groundImage.getHeight(), this);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(ThreeTier.DIM_WIDTH, ThreeTier.DIM_HEIGHT);
}
}
class ForegroundPanel extends JPanel {
public ForegroundPanel() {
setOpaque(false);
setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.TRAILING, 10, 0));
JButton button = new JButton("I'm in the Foreground!");
add(button);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(foregroundImage, 0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT, this);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(ThreeTier.DIM_WIDTH, ThreeTier.DIM_HEIGHT);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new ThreeTier();
}
});
}
}
UPDATE
Of course you could always just use the JLayeredPane. That's what it's for. See this example
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JLayeredPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class LayeredPaneDemo {
public static final int DIM_WIDTH = 600;
public static final int DIM_HEIGHT = 400;
public LayeredPaneDemo() {
ContainerPanel container = new ContainerPanel();
JLabel title = new JLabel("Lame Google Map");
title.setFont(new Font("verdana", Font.BOLD, 36));
title.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
panel.add(container);
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(panel);
frame.add(title, BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new LayeredPaneDemo();
}
});
}
public class ContainerPanel extends JPanel {
public ContainerPanel() {
JLayeredPane layeredPane = new JLayeredPane();
layeredPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT));
BackgroundPanel bg = new BackgroundPanel();
GroundPanel gg = new GroundPanel();
ForegroundPanel fg = new ForegroundPanel();
bg.setBounds(0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT);
layeredPane.add(bg, new Integer(1));
gg.setBounds(0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT);
layeredPane.add(gg, new Integer(2));
fg.setBounds(0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT);
layeredPane.add(fg, new Integer(3));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
add(layeredPane);
setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.BLUE, 10));
}
}
public class ForegroundPanel extends JPanel {
public ForegroundPanel() {
JPanel buttonPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(3, 3));
buttonPanel.setOpaque(false);
buttonPanel.add(new JLabel());
buttonPanel.add(new JButton("UP"));
buttonPanel.add(new JLabel());
buttonPanel.add(new JButton("Left"));
buttonPanel.add(new JLabel());
buttonPanel.add(new JButton("Right"));
buttonPanel.add(new JLabel());
buttonPanel.add(new JButton("Down"));
buttonPanel.add(new JLabel());
FlowLayout flow = (FlowLayout) getLayout();
flow.setAlignment(FlowLayout.TRAILING);
flow.setHgap(0);
flow.setVgap(0);
add(buttonPanel);
setOpaque(false);
}
}
public class GroundPanel extends JPanel {
Image image = null;
public GroundPanel() {
try {
image = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/resources/california.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(LayeredPaneDemo.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
setOpaque(false);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(image, 0, 0, DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT, this);
}
}
public class BackgroundPanel extends JPanel {
public BackgroundPanel() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
try {
Image img = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/resources/google.jpg"));
add(new JLabel(new ImageIcon(img)));
} catch (IOException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(LayeredPaneDemo.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
}
}