Answer: Pixel Puzzle #158

The hidden picture is a pixel creature!

The picture as Python

Here is the same picture stored as numbers in a Python list. The program reads each number and prints a symbol for it, so you can see the picture appear in the Python shell.

picture = [
    "0000000000",
    "0000000000",
    "0111001110",
    "0012002100",
    "0113113110",
    "0111001110",
    "0411111140",
    "0111001110",
    "0000000000",
    "0000000000",
]
symbols = " #@*o"

for row in picture:
    line = ""
    for number in row:
        line = line + symbols[int(number)]
    print(line)

When you run it, it prints:

 ###  ###
  #@  @#
 ##*##*##
 ###  ###
 o######o
 ###  ###

Squashing the picture smaller

Computers often save space with a trick called run-length encoding. Instead of storing every pixel, they count how many of the same colour are in a row. Here’s this picture written that way:

Show the run-length code

• Row 1: 10 × white
• Row 2: 10 × white
• Row 3: 1 × white, 3 × pink, 2 × white, 3 × pink, 1 × white
• Row 4: 2 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white, 2 × white, 1 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 5: 1 × white, 2 × pink, 1 × navy, 2 × pink, 1 × navy, 2 × pink, 1 × white
• Row 6: 1 × white, 3 × pink, 2 × white, 3 × pink, 1 × white
• Row 7: 1 × white, 1 × purple, 6 × pink, 1 × purple, 1 × white
• Row 8: 1 × white, 3 × pink, 2 × white, 3 × pink, 1 × white
• Row 9: 10 × white
• Row 10: 10 × white