Why do my components appear next to each other?

Question

I'm currently trying to create a program that moves a rectangle over a background Image with keyboard keys. The problem I'm facing is that when I draw the components they are simply placed next to each other, instead of the square overlaying the background image. Here's the code to display both the components;

    JLayeredPane panel = new JLayeredPane();
    panel.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
    add(panel);

    paintBackground pb = new paintBackground(bimg);
    panel.add(pb, 1, 0);

    paintPlayer cc = new paintPlayer(startX, startY);
    panel.add(cc, 2, 0);

    pack();
    setVisible(true);

I believe the problem is that the paintPlayer component is set to full size, and there seems to be a background. The paintPlayer component code looks like this:

public Dimension getMinimumSize() {
    return new Dimension(800,600);
}

@Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
    return new Dimension(800,600);
}

@Override
public Dimension getMaximumSize() {
    return new Dimension(800,600);
}

@Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
    super.paintComponent(g);
    g.setColor(Color.red);        
    System.out.println(startX + startY );
    g.fillRect(startX, startY, 30, 30);
}

I've had a go at setting the component size to just the size of the rectangle, but that way I can't move the rectangle by using the first two values in fillRect. The background for the rest of the space filled by the component (800x600) seems to be opaque.

When added, the components just display next to each other, like this: https://gyazo.com/57245c518e02778c36ffc89ba75d5a81. How do I go about adding the paintPlayer ontop of the paintBackground, so that it only covers the rectangle on the background Image.

I've done a fair bit of searching but I can't seem to work it out. Perhaps something to do with the layout? One other thing I've noticed is that by doing this, neither the frame or the pane benefit from a setBackground, as it's not visible. Cheers for any help.

Answer 1

This is the default Constructor of JLayerdPane.

public JLayeredPane() {
    setLayout(null);
}

You see it uses normaly AbsolutLayout. And if you read here:

Note: that these layers are simply a logical construct and LayoutManagers will affect all child components of this container without regard for layer settings.

You should understand what is wrong. Check OverlapLayout.