Can you combine multiple images into a single one using JavaScript?

Question

I am wondering if there is a way to combine multiple images into a single image using only JavaScript. Is this something that Canvas will be able to do. The effect can be

Answer 1

I don't think you can or would want to do this with client side javascript ("combing them into a single image for download"), because it's running on the client: even if you could combine them into a single image file on the client, at that point you've already downloaded all of the individual images, so the merge is pointless.

Answer 2

I know this is an old question and the OP found a workaround solution, but this will work if the images and canvas are already part of the HTML page.

<img id="img1" src="imgfile1.png">
<img id="img2" src="imgfile2.png">
<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

<script type="text/javascript">
var img1 = document.getElementById('img1');
var img2 = document.getElementById('img2');
var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var context = canvas.getContext('2d');

canvas.width = img1.width;
canvas.height = img1.height;

context.globalAlpha = 1.0;
context.drawImage(img1, 0, 0);
context.globalAlpha = 0.5; //Remove if pngs have alpha
context.drawImage(img2, 0, 0);
</script>

Or, if you want to load the images on the fly:

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>
<script type="text/javascript">
var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var context = canvas.getContext('2d');
var img1 = new Image();
var img2 = new Image();

img1.onload = function() {
    canvas.width = img1.width;
    canvas.height = img1.height;
    img2.src = 'imgfile2.png';
};
img2.onload = function() {
    context.globalAlpha = 1.0;
    context.drawImage(img1, 0, 0);
    context.globalAlpha = 0.5; //Remove if pngs have alpha
    context.drawImage(img2, 0, 0);
};        

img1.src = 'imgfile1.png';
</script>

Answer 3

MarvinJ provides the method combineByAlpha() in which combines multiple images using its alpha channel. Therefore, you just need to have your images in a format that supports transparency, like PNG, and use that method, as follow:

Marvin.combineByAlpha(image, imageOver, imageOutput, x, y);

image1:

image2:

image3:

Result:

Runnable Example:

var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
image1 = new MarvinImage();
image1.load("https://i.imgur.com/ChdMiH7.jpg", imageLoaded);
image2 = new MarvinImage();
image2.load("https://i.imgur.com/h3HBUBt.png", imageLoaded);
image3 = new MarvinImage();
image3.load("https://i.imgur.com/UoISVdT.png", imageLoaded);

var loaded=0;

function imageLoaded(){
  if(++loaded == 3){
    var image = new MarvinImage(image1.getWidth(), image1.getHeight());
    Marvin.combineByAlpha(image1, image2, image, 0, 0);
    Marvin.combineByAlpha(image, image3, image, 190, 120);
    image.draw(canvas);
  }
}

<script src="https://www.marvinj.org/releases/marvinj-0.8.js"></script>
<canvas id="canvas" width="450" height="297"></canvas>