Create a 3×3 Avatar Grid and Merge with a Flag to Generate a GIF Using Python Pillow

Overview

This article demonstrates how to use the Python Pillow library to divide an avatar picture into a 3×3 grid, blend each cell with a flag image, and assemble the results into an animated GIF.

Splitting the Avatar

from PIL import Image, ImageSequence

def split_image(image_path):
    # Open the avatar image
    image = Image.open(image_path)
    # Get image dimensions
    width, height = image.size
    # Compute size of each grid cell
    grid_width = width // 3
    grid_height = height // 3
    # Crop the avatar into nine cells
    grid_images = []
    for i in range(3):
        for j in range(3):
            left = j * grid_width
            upper = i * grid_height
            right = left + grid_width
            lower = upper + grid_height
            grid_image = image.crop((left, upper, right, lower))
            grid_images.append(grid_image)
    return grid_images

Merging with the Flag Background

def merge_with_flag(grid_images, flag_image_path, output_path):
    # Open the flag background image
    flag_image = Image.open(flag_image_path)
    # Resize the flag to match each grid cell
    resized_flag_image = flag_image.resize((grid_images[0].width, grid_images[0].height))
    # Create a list to hold merged frames
    merged_images = []
    for grid_image in grid_images:
        merged_image = Image.new("RGB", (grid_image.width, grid_image.height))
        merged_image.paste(grid_image, (0, 0))
        # Paste the flag using its alpha channel as mask
        merged_image.paste(resized_flag_image, (0, 0), mask=resized_flag_image)
        merged_images.append(merged_image)
    # Save the sequence as an animated GIF
    merged_images[0].save(output_path, save_all=True, append_images=merged_images[1:], loop=0, duration=200)

Running the Script

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Paths to your files
    image_path = "avatar.jpg"
    flag_image_path = "flag.jpg"
    output_path = "merged_image.gif"
    # Split the avatar
    grid_images = split_image(image_path)
    # Merge each cell with the flag and create the GIF
    merge_with_flag(grid_images, flag_image_path, output_path)

Installation

Make sure Pillow is installed before running the script:

pip install pillow

Result

The script produces merged_image.gif, an animated GIF where each of the nine avatar sections is overlaid on the flag background.