It is possible to do headless rendering using Graphics2D methods, so the
answer is no.  However, I don't think that's really what you're trying to
ask.  If you explain a bit more about why it's important that something
count or not count as an AWT component (e.g. heavyweight, lightweight,
non-Swing, etc) you might get a better answer.

Cheers,
Matt Humphrey  matth@ivizNOSPAM.com  http://www.iviz.com/