How to Split an Image Into Multiple Pieces in Python

In this tutorial, we will learn how to split an image into multiple pieces using Python. We will use PIL (Python Imaging Library), a powerful library that supports opening, manipulating, and saving different image file formats.

Whether you are working on implementing a puzzle game or an application for processing large images, being able to split an image into multiple pieces programmatically can be a valuable skill.

Step 1: Install the PIL Library

Firstly, we need to install the PIL library. If it’s not installed in your Python environment, you can use the following command in your terminal to install it.

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pip install pillow

Step 2: Import the Necessary Libraries

We will need the Image class from the PIL library.

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from PIL import Image

Step 3: Open the Image

First, open the image you want to split using the ‘open’ function.

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img = Image.open('robot.jpg')

Step 4: Define the Split Function

Now, let’s define our split function. Essentially, this function will take an image object and the number of rows and columns to split the image into.

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def split_image(image_path, rows, cols):
    # Open the image file
    img = Image.open(image_path)
    # Calculate the width and height of each piece
    width, height = img.size[0] // cols, img.size[1] // rows
    pieces = []
 
    # Loop through the image and split it
    for i in range(rows):
        for j in range(cols):
            left, upper, right, lower = j * width, i * height, (j + 1) * width, (i + 1) * height
            piece = img.crop((left, upper, right, lower))
            pieces.append(piece)
    return pieces

This function will return a list of image objects, each representing a piece of the original image.

Step 5: Save the Pieces

After splitting the image, we can loop through the pieces and save each one as a separate file.

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pieces = split_image('robot.jpg', 2, 2)
 
for i, piece in enumerate(pieces):
    piece.save(f'piece_{i}.jpg', 'JPEG')

This will create four new image files, each containing one-quarter of the original image.

Full Python Code

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from PIL import Image
 
def split_image(image_path, rows, cols):
    img = Image.open(image_path)
    width, height = img.size[0] // cols, img.size[1] // rows
    pieces = []
 
    for i in range(rows):
        for j in range(cols):
            left, upper, right, lower = j * width, i * height, (j + 1) * width, (i + 1) * height
            piece = img.crop((left, upper, right, lower))
            pieces.append(piece)
    return pieces
 
pieces = split_image('robot.jpg', 2, 2)
for i, piece in enumerate(pieces):
    piece.save(f'piece_{i}.jpg', 'JPEG')

Pieces:

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to split an image into multiple pieces using the PIL library in Python. This process can be very useful in a variety of applications, including image processing and game development.

Python, with its powerful libraries and flexible syntax, makes the task quite intuitive and straightforward. Feel free to modify the code as per your specific requirements and application. Enjoy coding!