So, for this piece I decided I wanted to try and chalenge myself by using as few
layers as possible - which meant merging the color +shading layers, and 
eventually the linework. There were a few steps I took to make sure this was a 
smooth process, so I'll share those with you! 
Overall, I was really proud of how this came out. I felt like I did the
idea justice, even if I did mess it up in some places.

First thing to note is the most important thing I kept in mind as I worked:
use references.
I had about a bajillion different images pulled up while I worked, not only for
the form of the character, and anatomy, but also for color referencing and picking.
And while I had a lot of real world references, I also had a lot of stuff
from artists like cyancapsule and Buxbi pulled up. if you have a specifc
energy you're going for, it's good to have other artist's work to look at. 

for the shading, I first used my original process of multiply layer for the shading,
add (glow) layers for the lighting, and a vew overlays for color corrections. Then, once I had the colors picked, I merged all of my color layers, and began painting
I'll probably end up posting my main brushes I use soon, if there's a request
for them, but for the most part they weren't particulary important to this process. 
just a little bit of flair I added on for fun.

I worked from dark to light, which means putting down the dark colors first and working forward, ending with the brightest colors. It was a bit of a struggle working with the changes in color (particularly with the underbelly colors, going into the nipples and thighs), but it's something I'll keep in mind for next time. 
I waited until I was 100% sure with the colors before I decided to merge the linework layer into the main paint layer. And then once I felt comfy, I went ahead and merged, and blended the edges to it was more of a smooth, red outline.

I was going for color vibrance similar to Cyancapsule, but clear shadows like I've seen in Buxbi's work. I had did a few practices where I would eyedrop a color from a piece from CC, and then attempt to paint a sphere emulating the same color spectrum used in the picture. It was good for learning where on the color wheel you move. 
I left the palette for the pregnant edit on the file, so that you can pick and see just how the colors move along the wheel. For more vibrance, you want more color saturation, but keep the value changes minimal. That way it didn't turn out too muddy and hard to look at. 

Other than that though, I think that's it! PSD is attached!