You can load images anywhere, before your mainloop, in your mainloop (don't forget to free them :D), after your mainloop, in functions, anywhere.
If you can't load images at these locations I just named, you've some weird bug somewhere.. ^_^
Remember, you work with handles.. an image is just a 4-byte adres, like those '22037293'-like numbers you might see now and then. An image is for the user not much different than a gadget, a bank, a sound etc. It's all 4-byte adresses.. Each time you load an image or create something like a gadget, a new handle is made.
If you can't load images at these locations I just named, you've some weird bug somewhere.. ^_^
Remember, you work with handles.. an image is just a 4-byte adres, like those '22037293'-like numbers you might see now and then. An image is for the user not much different than a gadget, a bank, a sound etc. It's all 4-byte adresses.. Each time you load an image or create something like a gadget, a new handle is made.