Chris soon found that, while the demand for his fantasy and pin-up art was increasing, he was having to turn down exciting commissions because of commitments to the more lucrative advertising work. He had to decide whether to continue taking on various advertising commissions, making good money but receiving little personal satisfaction, or to paint what he wanted — fantasy and glamour art — full-time. Painting a fantasy piece generally took twice as long as an advertising job, while paying only half the fee, and Chris therefore had to be prepared to take a cut in his standard of living. Now with a family to raise and a mortgage to pay, it was naturally a difficult decision.

He finally decided to withdraw from commercial advertising in favour of his first love. It was a choice he never regretted. Fortunately, it coincided with a rise in the popularity of fantasy and science fiction art in general, both in America and Great Britain. Chris was flourishing as a fantasy artist.

The world-wide success of the Conan novels triggered a demand for similar genre material, including the Gor and Raven trilogies for which Chris painted the covers. He was also kept busy with the Doctor Who books, which were a runaway success and needed on a monthly basis, as well as several commissions for Michael Moorcock novels, among them a cover for one of the Elric novels.

Like many young artists of the period, Chris loved Frank Frazetta’s work, understood its underlying principles — dynamism, a sense of violent action and design — and had at first emulated him. However, inevitably he also wanted to develop his own style. Chris used his airbrush skills to provide a new, sleek sense of realism, vastly different from that of Frazetta.

For his Elric cover, Chris decided to depart from the traditional depiction of the character — until then presented in the mould of the muscular, Frazetta-style figure — and paint him as described by Moorcock: a thin, feminine-looking elf, dependent on drugs until he picks up a demonic sword that gives him strength and battle prowess. Chris painted him as slender, with almond-shaped eyes, pointed ears and a feminine demeanour. He also adorned the character with full armour and a blanketing cloak, an innovative approach at the time, inspired by Chris’s insatiable interest in historical costume.