My Take on The "Rainbow Grasshopper"

So I learned something new. In Peru & other places there is a colorful grasshopper known as the Rainbow Grasshopper. I didn't look up pics of him (we're pretending it's a he lol) prior to coloring him or look in the index to see what species he was. I just went where the marker (mostly) took me. This is from Tim Jeff's "Intricate Ink Animals in Detail" Volume 4. He studies each animal or insect / reptile/ etc. very intricately as the title describes. He delves deeply into their habits, habitats, etc. to bring a refreshing take on photorealism. Many of his drawings, in fact all of them, do look like photos. Here's a screenshot of what the rainbow grasshopper actually looks like.

(Courtesy of bugguide.net)
Pretty cool looking creature & I do like my take on it going in blind. It's fun to let your own creativity take over. So yes I mostly used markers to include copics and some cheaper sargent brushtips and fineliners. This was the first time I really tried blending these alcohol based markers as you can see on the exoskeleton elements of green/ bronze/ pink all in one main area and on parts of those powerful hind legs. I rather like the effect! Or perhaps, it just worked well on this paper. I am gonna continue working on blending these markers.

Any artists have input on blending alcohol based markers? I've been afraid to try it because these markers are a tad expensive although you can purchase refill cartridges.