Changed the spheres color to purple to create a more satisfying color balance and experimented with a dark background.
Inserted the baby snake while creating the new and improved sphere with reference. I was looking to get a sort of amber effect.
I decreased the size of the sphere and added more segments of the snakes body.
When in doubt, sketch it out. At the previous point, the composition felt like the snake wasn't involved enough so I decided to sketch some thumbnails. One of which turned out to be the final composition.
Rounding the corner on color decisions.
Testing out colors and textures for the snake's skin.
Gathering reference and developing reflective segments on body.