Answer: Pixel Puzzle #220

The hidden picture is a flower!

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",
    "0000010000",
    "0000121000",
    "0001222100",
    "0000121000",
    "0000030000",
    "0000030300",
    "0000033000",
    "0000030000",
]
symbols = " #@*"

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

When you run it, it prints:

     #
    #@#
   #@@@#
    #@#
     *
     * *
     **
     *

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: 5 × white, 1 × orange, 4 × white
• Row 4: 4 × white, 1 × orange, 1 × yellow, 1 × orange, 3 × white
• Row 5: 3 × white, 1 × orange, 3 × yellow, 1 × orange, 2 × white
• Row 6: 4 × white, 1 × orange, 1 × yellow, 1 × orange, 3 × white
• Row 7: 5 × white, 1 × green, 4 × white
• Row 8: 5 × white, 1 × green, 1 × white, 1 × green, 2 × white
• Row 9: 5 × white, 2 × green, 3 × white
• Row 10: 5 × white, 1 × green, 4 × white