Steck Figures

WINTER GARDEN — Ever since he was a kid, Jim Steck had a stroke of creative spirit in him — and now, as an adult, he uses that creativity to design characters and graphics for today’s kids to enjoy.

“I was one of these chronic doodlers during school, growing up, and I always wanted to be an advertising art director,” Steck said.

After graduating from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Steck set off for Central Florida and almost immediately took the first step toward his dream job. During the next 25 years, he worked as the senior art director for some big agencies in the Orlando area. But in 1997, he started illustrating on the side, by the name of Steck Figures.

“After a while, it became two full-time jobs, and I had a young daughter at the time,” he said. “So I quit my advertising job and went into Steck Figures full-time.”

Steck, a resident of Winter Garden, describes his style as “funky retro.”

“I really have been influenced by the TV advertising animation of the 50s and 60s — those cute little characters,” he said.

Early in his illustrating career, Steck started working with agents in New York and Chicago who helped him get work all over the world, in many different forms.

For example, Steck’s illustrations have appeared on Happy Meal bags at McDonald’s, kids’ menus at Denny’s and kids’ meal materials at Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut. He has illustrated a few Powerpuff Girls books for Cartoon Network, and he has designed about 150 greeting cards for American Greetings and other companies.

Steck has done illustrations for nearly every children’s book publisher in the United States, as well as others in Korea, Italy and the United Kingdom.

But one of his favorite projects was a children’s book that he and his wife, Terri, created together, called “Little Rhino Has No Horn.”

One day, Steck found himself sitting on the couch, doodling a rhino that had no horn. He suggested to his wife that they come up with an accompanying storyline, but they didn’t actively pursue the idea for a long time.

The Stecks had a neighbor who was a publisher, and when she found out about the idea for the rhino story, she told them she wanted the book done by the end of the month.

Terri Steck was an English major, but it took a lot of work to figure out the correct formula for a children’s book.

“She just did a lot of research and took my rough outline … and just worked her magic on it,” Jim Steck said.

The book has been on the Accelerated Reader and Summer Reading lists for Orange County Public Schools, and it is available at Orange County public libraries.

Last January, Ripley Publishing, affiliated with Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museums, moved its headquarters from London to Orlando. The company needed to hire a creative team, and Steck got an unexpected call asking him to join.

“I wanted to get back into a creative atmosphere, and it’s kind of cool going back to a workplace where I’m collaborating with other creatives,” he said. “We do 15 to 20 books a year — some are more children-oriented; some are more gross.”

Even with his job at Ripley Publishing, Steck Figures will continue to be an important part of Steck’s life and career.

“It’s always exciting to pick up a magazine and see your work in it, or when you finally get a book sample and see your work. And every once in a while, I’ll see my stuff on TV,” he said.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at [email protected].