1. A method comprising: (a) prior to rendering an imitation image, estimating one or more rendering parameters from a distorted image; (b) rendering, by a processor the imitation image, the imitation image comprising one or more simulated characters that correspond to one or more characters within the distorted image; (c) applying one or more distortion models to the imitation image, thereby generating a distorted imitation image; (d) comparing the distorted imitation image with the distorted image to compute a similarity between the distorted imitation image and the distorted image; and (e) identifying the one or more characters as the one or more simulated characters based on the similarity.