Look into Japanese styled snake tattoos. They're brilliantly colored, and Japanese style pieces (when done well) are very good with managing positive and negative space. Even if you don't care for the aesthetics, you can reference them for shape.

Do your research! And like snakes, go for quality over price, and find an artist who excels at the style you want.

PS- I'm sorry I don't have a snake tattoo pic for you. I have a serpent, but I hate it because I didn't follow the advice above. 😣