Java and Sprite animation. (why not masking?)

Hello, I am just learning to use the Java graphics GDI. My question is with regards to sprite animation. I am an old MS Windows graphics programmer, and back in the windows gdi, before you can display a buffered sprite on the screen, you have to create a few mask of the sprite and a mask of the background image. All of this so that you can implement transparent bitmaps.

Why is this not done in Java. I have not seen this technique used anywhere, and it makes me feel a bit uneasy. Does Java already encapsulate this functionality for you in any of it's classes?

(Meaning encapsulate masking functionality).

Thank you for your help.

[668 byte] By [JavaIsGreata] at [2007-9-28 10:10:59]