Answer: Pixel Puzzle #195

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",
    "0011001100",
    "0112002110",
    "0034004300",
    "0011001100",
    "0111111110",
    "0011111100",
    "0013003100",
    "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: 2 × white, 2 × purple, 2 × white, 2 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 4: 1 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × white, 2 × white, 1 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × white
• Row 5: 2 × white, 1 × orange, 1 × navy, 2 × white, 1 × navy, 1 × orange, 2 × white
• Row 6: 2 × white, 2 × purple, 2 × white, 2 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 7: 1 × white, 8 × purple, 1 × white
• Row 8: 2 × white, 6 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 9: 2 × white, 1 × purple, 1 × orange, 2 × white, 1 × orange, 1 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 10: 10 × white