Otto Stürcke was born in 1971 and grew up in Southern California. Primarily self-taught, Stürcke joined the U.S. Marine Corps in hopes of attaining financial aid to attend an art college. His plans were momentarily altered in 1991 when he was called to serve in Desert Storm. Soon after his military service, Stürcke enrolled in art workshops and courses at several local art associations and colleges while launching his illustration career under the mentorship of Mike Butkus. Working as an illustrator served Stürcke for honing many techniques and found pastels to be his principal medium of choice.