What you have is raster artwork.
What you need is a vector outline.
Converting from vector to raster is easy, raster to vector, not so much.
Here is one possible workflow:
- Convert your artwork into a black-and-white image (like your pixel color present/not-present matrix).
- Use Adobe Illustrator's "Live Trace" feature to vectorize this image.
- Export the outline polygon into a format that you can read back easily.
- Use this as your input for the collision detection.
Here's another approach:
A) Assume that the outline looks like a hexagon, like this:
*****
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
*****
B) Define "fit" as the goodness of an outline, calculated by checking what percentage of the pixels are inside the hexagon (does not have to be the regular-shaped figure shown above).
C) Change the positions of the vertices, until you find an optimum fit (or until you get tired).
Step (C) is, of course, the hardest one. Plus, if your sprite needs more vertices, you may need to start out with an octagon/n-gon instead.