Answer: Pixel Puzzle #270

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",
    "001000000100",
    "012110011210",
    "002110011200",
    "001231132100",
    "001141141100",
    "012111111210",
    "012120021210",
    "011100001110",
    "001100001100",
    "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##
 #@######@#
 #@#@  @#@#
 ###    ###
  ##    ##

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: 2 × white, 1 × yellow, 6 × white, 1 × yellow, 2 × white
• Row 3: 1 × white, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 2 × yellow, 2 × white, 2 × yellow, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 1 × white
• Row 4: 2 × white, 1 × purple, 2 × yellow, 2 × white, 2 × yellow, 1 × purple, 2 × white
• Row 5: 2 × white, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 1 × white, 2 × yellow, 1 × white, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 2 × white
• Row 6: 2 × white, 2 × yellow, 1 × navy, 2 × yellow, 1 × navy, 2 × yellow, 2 × white
• Row 7: 1 × white, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 6 × yellow, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 1 × white
• Row 8: 1 × white, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 2 × white, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 1 × purple, 1 × yellow, 1 × white
• Row 9: 1 × white, 3 × yellow, 4 × white, 3 × yellow, 1 × white
• Row 10: 2 × white, 2 × yellow, 4 × white, 2 × yellow, 2 × white
• Row 11: 12 × white
• Row 12: 12 × white