Can a Tapir Teach What Self-Help Books Can’t?

This tapir illustration came from my Uncommon Animals of the Alphabet take on the #Inktober prompt “trunk.” Yes, elephants are the obvious choice, and I adore them, especially after seeing baby ones swim like wrinkly little submarines of joy. However i wanted this prompt to be all about the Uncommon Animals of the Alphabet. No offence, elephants. You’re flawless. I just needed something more, well… Uncommon.

I also have a real soft spot for tapirs. They honestly feel like a creature that wandered out of a Miyazaki animation, gentle, strange, slightly magical, and somehow still very real. Nature’s quiet fantasy character that didn’t get a studio deal. So when I released a limited run of 5 NFTs on Zero One, it was my hope to bring just a little bit more attention to this magical creature that you may not have met. 

Tapirs have survived on this planet for over 50 million years. They’re strong swimmers, using their snouts like snorkels, moving calmly through rivers while the rest of us are just trying not to drown in notifications. There’s something very artist-coded about the tapir. Persistent. Adaptable. Unbothered by trends. 

What books do you want to read?

I love books. I love the idea of books. I love owning books. I love being the kind of person who casually says, “Oh yeah, I read that.” Reality, however, is: dad, farm, art, dishes, entropy. 

That said, two books are currently sitting on my shelf like patient elders: The Artist’s Way (lent to me by a fellow artist, so there’s emotional interest accruing) and Atomic Habits. And I keep thinking… if I could absorb and implement even a fraction of what’s inside those pages, I might evolve from “scrappy surviving artist” into “quietly thriving, slightly less chaotic artist.” Or maybe there’s another lesson I can learn from the tapir: move slowly, consistently, without drama. One page at a time. One habit at a time. One drawing at a time.

So this tapir now lives in two worlds: ink on paper, and a strange little corner of the digital forest on Zero One. And honestly, that feels right for a creature that exists somewhere between real and mythical.

If this tapir resonates with you, the softness, the strangeness, the survival energy, it’s out there, waiting in its new habitat.

Ancient creature. New world. Same stubborn heartbeat.