When only in his teens, he wrote and submitted for publication a long fictional work illustrated with his own drawings. The publishers, however, were only interested in the artwork, which led him to think that maybe it was better to concentrate on this facet of his creative talent. By age 20, he had become a regular contributor of illustrations to science-fiction magazines and thrillers.
同樣喜歡文學創作的他，青少年時就完成過一部長篇小說並自己配上插圖，寄給出版社，結果出版社只登出他的插畫，讓他體會到也許自己「只能專注於一種藝術創作」；20 歲時，他開始定期為科幻雜誌與恐怖小說畫插畫。