I suggest to scan the sketch area with a step corresponding to the size of the images to use, and if a coordinate is within the logo, put an image there... Yes, that's what you did, more or less. I just added a "step", which you did already or not, your description remains a bit vague.
A possible improvement (or not) might be to draw the shape on an off-screen PGraphics. The check might be faster then: if the point has background color, you are off shape, otherwise you are on it.

Thanks for the reply.

AFAIK, packing algorithms, particularly with irregular shapes, are not mathematically solvable. Not even algorithmically, they are called NP-complete because it would make too much time to solve. There are heuristics to improve such algorithms, effectively providing solutions, but I don't think there is a ready to use solution available for your problem.

Beside, slowness is relative. Do your sketch have to be real time? What is the size of the rendered logo in pixels? The size of each image to fit there?

Thanks again for your reply.

If you can draw off-screen, why not:
1. draw the logo, filled with wihite, on a black field
2. draw all the pictures
3. multiply the images together. Don't even worry about packing.


for the fly-in and out, draw the picture on top of the previous composite, varying the pic's transparency

kb, http://www.riftgame.com/