Answer: Pixel Puzzle #325

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 = [
    "0000000000000000",
    "0000000000000000",
    "0000000010000000",
    "0000000111000000",
    "0000000111000000",
    "0000011121110000",
    "0000111222111000",
    "0000011121110000",
    "0000000111000000",
    "0000000111000000",
    "0000000030000000",
    "0000000030300000",
    "0000000033000000",
    "0000000030000000",
    "0000000030000000",
    "0000000030000000",
]
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: 16 × white
• Row 2: 16 × white
• Row 3: 8 × white, 1 × purple, 7 × white
• Row 4: 7 × white, 3 × purple, 6 × white
• Row 5: 7 × white, 3 × purple, 6 × white
• Row 6: 5 × white, 3 × purple, 1 × yellow, 3 × purple, 4 × white
• Row 7: 4 × white, 3 × purple, 3 × yellow, 3 × purple, 3 × white
• Row 8: 5 × white, 3 × purple, 1 × yellow, 3 × purple, 4 × white
• Row 9: 7 × white, 3 × purple, 6 × white
• Row 10: 7 × white, 3 × purple, 6 × white
• Row 11: 8 × white, 1 × green, 7 × white
• Row 12: 8 × white, 1 × green, 1 × white, 1 × green, 5 × white
• Row 13: 8 × white, 2 × green, 6 × white
• Row 14: 8 × white, 1 × green, 7 × white
• Row 15: 8 × white, 1 × green, 7 × white
• Row 16: 8 × white, 1 × green, 7 × white