Answer: Pixel Puzzle #246

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 = [
    "000000000000",
    "000000000000",
    "001111111100",
    "001010010100",
    "001121121100",
    "001131131100",
    "001141141100",
    "004110011400",
    "001110011100",
    "001000000100",
    "000000000000",
    "000000000000",
]
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##
  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: 12 × white
• Row 2: 12 × white
• Row 3: 2 × white, 8 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 4: 2 × white, 1 × purple, 1 × white, 1 × purple, 2 × white, 1 × purple, 1 × white, 1 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 5: 2 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × white, 2 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 6: 2 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × navy, 2 × purple, 1 × navy, 2 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 7: 2 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × orange, 2 × purple, 1 × orange, 2 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 8: 2 × white, 1 × orange, 2 × purple, 2 × white, 2 × purple, 1 × orange, 2 × white
• Row 9: 2 × white, 3 × purple, 2 × white, 3 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 10: 2 × white, 1 × purple, 6 × white, 1 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 11: 12 × white
• Row 12: 12 × white