With a website name like Dipahead.com you know that Steve Schaecher (pronounced Shecker) obviously has an appreciation for the obtuse. Oddly enough the dip moniker isn't far off from describing Steve and his personality.

Steve currently has a double career (architecture and cartooning/illustrating)  He has been a registered architect in the state of Indiana for eleven years. This site however is  dedicated to his cartooning/illustrating career.  

Steve has always been somewhat of a doodle bug and believed that drawing in some capacity would be his way to make it in the world.  In high school, he became the cartoonist for his school paper. This is where he learned that he could actually make people laugh without direct contact.  He enjoyed the entertainment aspect of cartooning and the attention it brought (of course).

After high school, Steve attended Ball State University for architecture. Cartooning took a backseat except for maintaining his doodling passion and doing odd illustrating pieces when he had an opportunity.  His architectural presentations however always managed to incorporate some characters and always embraced the cartoon aesthetic.

Steve took a job in Indianapolis in 1990 at Schmidt Associates where he is currently employed.  He sat for his architectural registration exam in 1993 and passed on his first attempt.  The architectural profession has changed over time to utilize the computer more and more to produce architectural drawings and speed up the design process.  This development along with the little voice in Steve's head saying "what if..." caused Steve to pursue his love for cartooning and entertaining people with his hand drawings wherever possible.

The Indianapolis Chapter of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) publishes a newsletter called the Journal.  A co-worker suggested Steve draw cartoons for it to enhance its readability.  And so his cartoons once again had an audience.  It wasn't long before Steve presented the AIArchitect (national monthly newsletter) with the idea that if they were to truly be considered a newspaper they needed cartoons - from him.  He enjoyed a two-year stint as their cartoonist and it has helped him start his book series.

Which pretty much leads us to today.  Sure, there are other details of who Steve Schaecher is, that are omitted from the text above - but the text hits the major highlights I think.  If you want to learn more feel free to ask me sschaecher4@comcast.net
or see my experiences

Steve Schaecher

Dr. Cartoon - (Lakeshore High School - 1985) the beginning of Steve's cartooning career

This is a portion of a presentation on the Behavioral Analysis of a Bicycle Wheel, that Steve did during his 3rd year at Ball State.

Any opportunity to do a nifty little drawing was used by Steve as illustrated here with one of his Halloween party invitations

Steve's first cartoon for the Journal, for Indianapolis' architects

Outhouse by Famous Architects

Out-take from the Outhouses