How to use images in JFrame's and JComponent's

[Corey S]

Hey, I'm trying to make a game for a school project that uses image files. I've been working on changing some pre-written code (I believe from IBM) that we used for pong as I'm not yet an expert on swing; however, the pre-written code only allows for the insertion of solid colored objects, not images. The pre-written code was divided into Game (which was a child of JFrame) and GameObject (which was a child of JComponent). The original paint method in GameObject was

 public void paint(Graphics g) {
  Rectangle r = getBounds();
  g.setColor(c);
  g.fillRect(0, 0, (int)r.getWidth(), (int)r.getHeight());
 }

I changed it to be

public void paint(Graphics g) {
 g.drawImage(image, getX(), getY(), this);
}

Where image has already been declared and constructed as follows

BufferedImage image;
try {
        String path = "images/spaceship.png";
        URL url = getClass().getResource(path);
        image = ImageIO.read(url);
    }
    catch (IOException e)
    {
      System.out.println("not valid image");
    }

Unfortunately when I run the game, the GameObject does not appear at all in the JFrame, except when I move it into the top left corner of the screen.

I'm also not sure if I should use a BufferedImage or a normal Image to construct my image, and what the best way to construct it would be.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.