Answer: Pixel Puzzle #376

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 = [
    "0000000000000000",
    "0000010000100000",
    "0010111001110100",
    "0001122112211000",
    "0101121001211010",
    "0011113003111100",
    "0010014004100100",
    "0011111111111100",
    "0010112112110100",
    "0010001001000100",
    "0000001001000000",
    "0000000000000000",
    "0000000000000000",
    "0011010000101100",
    "0000000000000000",
    "0000000000000000",
]
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: 16 × white
• Row 2: 5 × white, 1 × pink, 4 × white, 1 × pink, 5 × white
• Row 3: 2 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white, 3 × pink, 2 × white, 3 × pink, 1 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 4: 3 × white, 2 × pink, 2 × red, 2 × pink, 2 × red, 2 × pink, 3 × white
• Row 5: 1 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white, 2 × pink, 1 × red, 1 × pink, 2 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × red, 2 × pink, 1 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white
• Row 6: 2 × white, 4 × pink, 1 × white, 2 × white, 1 × white, 4 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 7: 2 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × navy, 2 × white, 1 × navy, 1 × pink, 2 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 8: 2 × white, 12 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 9: 2 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white, 2 × pink, 1 × red, 2 × pink, 1 × red, 2 × pink, 1 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 10: 2 × white, 1 × pink, 3 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white, 1 × pink, 3 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 11: 6 × white, 1 × pink, 2 × white, 1 × pink, 6 × white
• Row 12: 16 × white
• Row 13: 16 × white
• Row 14: 2 × white, 2 × pink, 1 × white, 1 × pink, 4 × white, 1 × pink, 1 × white, 2 × pink, 2 × white
• Row 15: 16 × white
• Row 16: 16 × white