Very well done and interesting interpretation of the ref ;) You somehow managed to both keep and change the atmosphere. Aspects of both is what I can see, I mean.
I admire the skill of painting in a loose and yet precise way. So thanks for showing us the early stages, too! That's at least half a tutorial there.
Thank you :D I try not to be too repetitive with my tutorials, since I've made more detailed explanations for similar art including that frog art post ^^
I certainly try to not copy the reference, I look for shapes and colors and just inspiration in general. I've done a lot of photo studies, so many that I feel I need to move on to more creative art.
The trick of making it look precise is the 100% opacity brush with no transparency. Additional layers for light and glow can have some transparency.