pygame.surfarray

pygame module for accessing surface pixel data using array interfaces

Functions to convert pixel data between pygame Surfaces and arrays. This module will only be functional when pygame can use the external NumPy package.

Every pixel is stored as a single integer value to represent the red, green, and blue colors. The 8-bit images use a value that looks into a colormap. Pixels with higher depth use a bit packing process to place three or four values into a single number.

The arrays are indexed by the X axis first, followed by the Y axis. Arrays that treat the pixels as a single integer are referred to as 2D arrays. This module can also separate the red, green, and blue color values into separate indices. These types of arrays are referred to as 3D arrays, and the last index is 0 for red, 1 for green, and 2 for blue.

pygame.surfarray.array2d(Surface) -> array

Copy pixels into a 2d array

Copy the mapped (raw) pixels from a Surface into a 2D array. The bit depth of the surface will control the size of the integer values, and will work for any type of pixel format.

This function will temporarily lock the Surface as pixels are copied (see the pygame.Surface.lock() - lock the Surface memory for pixel access method).

pygame.surfarray.pixels2d(Surface) -> array

Reference pixels into a 2d array

Create a new 2D array that directly references the pixel values in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

Pixels from a 24-bit Surface cannot be referenced, but all other Surface bit depths can.

The Surface this references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array (see the pygame.Surface.lock() - lock the Surface memory for pixel access method).

pygame.surfarray.array3d(Surface) -> array

Copy pixels into a 3d array

Copy the pixels from a Surface into a 3D array. The bit depth of the surface will control the size of the integer values, and will work for any type of pixel format.

This function will temporarily lock the Surface as pixels are copied (see the pygame.Surface.lock() - lock the Surface memory for pixel access method).

pygame.surfarray.pixels3d(Surface) -> array

Reference pixels into a 3d array

Create a new 3D array that directly references the pixel values in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

This will only work on Surfaces that have 24-bit or 32-bit formats. Lower pixel formats cannot be referenced.

The Surface this references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array (see the pygame.Surface.lock() - lock the Surface memory for pixel access method).

pygame.surfarray.array_alpha(Surface) -> array

Copy pixel alphas into a 2d array

Copy the pixel alpha values (degree of transparency) from a Surface into a 2D array. This will work for any type of Surface format. Surfaces without a pixel alpha will return an array with all opaque values.

This function will temporarily lock the Surface as pixels are copied (see the pygame.Surface.lock() - lock the Surface memory for pixel access method).

pygame.surfarray.pixels_alpha(Surface) -> array

Reference pixel alphas into a 2d array

Create a new 2D array that directly references the alpha values (degree of transparency) in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

This can only work on 32-bit Surfaces with a per-pixel alpha value.

The Surface this array references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array.

pygame.surfarray.pixels_red (Surface) -> array

Reference pixel red into a 2d array.

Create a new 2D array that directly references the red values in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

This can only work on 24-bit or 32-bit Surfaces.

The Surface this array references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array.

pygame.surfarray.pixels_green (Surface) -> array

Reference pixel green into a 2d array.

Create a new 2D array that directly references the green values in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

This can only work on 24-bit or 32-bit Surfaces.

The Surface this array references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array.

pygame.surfarray.pixels_blue (Surface) -> array

Reference pixel blue into a 2d array.

Create a new 2D array that directly references the blue values in a Surface. Any changes to the array will affect the pixels in the Surface. This is a fast operation since no data is copied.

This can only work on 24-bit or 32-bit Surfaces.

The Surface this array references will remain locked for the lifetime of the array.

pygame.surfarray.array_colorkey(Surface) -> array

Copy the colorkey values into a 2d array

Create a new array with the colorkey transparency value from each pixel. If the pixel matches the colorkey it will be fully transparent; otherwise it will be fully opaque.

This will work on any type of Surface format. If the image has no colorkey a solid opaque array will be returned.

This function will temporarily lock the Surface as pixels are copied.

pygame.surfarray.make_surface(array) -> Surface

Copy an array to a new surface

Create a new Surface that best resembles the data and format on the array. The array can be 2D or 3D with any sized integer values. Function make_surface uses the array struct interface to acquire array properties, so is not limited to just NumPy arrays. See pygame.pixelcopy.

New in pygame 1.9.2: array struct interface support.

pygame.surfarray.blit_array(Surface, array) -> None

Blit directly from a array values

Directly copy values from an array into a Surface. This is faster than converting the array into a Surface and blitting. The array must be the same dimensions as the Surface and will completely replace all pixel values. Only integer, ASCII character and record arrays are accepted.

This function will temporarily lock the Surface as the new values are copied.

pygame.surfarray.map_array(Surface, array3d) -> array2d

Map a 3d array into a 2d array

Convert a 3D array into a 2D array. This will use the given Surface format to control the conversion. Palette surface formats are supported for NumPy arrays.

pygame.surfarray.use_arraytype (arraytype) -> None

Sets the array system to be used for surface arrays

DEPRECATED: Uses the requested array type for the module functions. The only supported arraytype is 'numpy'. Other values will raise ValueError.

pygame.surfarray.get_arraytype () -> str

Gets the currently active array type.

DEPRECATED: Returns the currently active array type. This will be a value of the get_arraytypes() tuple and indicates which type of array module is used for the array creation.

New in pygame 1.8

pygame.surfarray.get_arraytypes () -> tuple

Gets the array system types currently supported.

DEPRECATED: Checks, which array systems are available and returns them as a tuple of strings. The values of the tuple can be used directly in the pygame.surfarray.use_arraytype() () method. If no supported array system could be found, None will be returned.

New in pygame 1.8.