Picked this up from @Seri, thought I could as well!
RULES:
Answer each question in as much detail as you like. Skip anything you don't know or would prefer not to answer.
How many usernames have you had? (You don't have to share them!)
A few. Saranna's been there from the very start of my internet era, MurTheHat too is over ten years old username by now. There's been few others, too, but they're not worth a mention really.
What does your current username mean?
Saranna is just a lil' bit of self irony. In Finnish, sarana means hinge, and I have cranky joints who like to creak. Therefore I creak like an old hinge.
MurTheHat, then, is actually something my mother's friend came up with. I love hats, I always have a hat on when I go somewhere, and I tend to growl or grunt or something like that if I don't feel like talking -- which is sort of often. '8) Mur is Finnish for growl, so there you have it. "Your kid uses hats and growls, therefore they're MurTheHat" - my moms friend, probably. Also, translated literally to Finnish MurTheHat is MurHattu, and murhattu means murdered, which turns this username into a pun. And I love puns.
What is the first program you used to make digital art?
MS Paint and Project Dogwaffle. Sometimes I still use Paint.
Where did you first start posting your art?
Old Finnish text-based RPG forums. Then DeviantArt came along.
What is the first piece of media you drew fanart for?
Uhh, I don't remember?? Probably Pirates of the Caribbean?
Who was your first self-insert/persona/fursona? What did they mean to you?
Back in 2007 I created this feline thingy named Roskasäkki-Lordi. She was a silly thing with small horns on her head, sporting a cape made of a trash bag. She was a fun character to draw, but always more of a joke than an actual, well-fleshed oc.
What phases/styles has your art gone through? (e.g. Did you have an anime era, a cartoon style, a watercolour phase?)
Don't think I've had any, no. Not any that I've "grown out of", at least.
What/who do you think has influenced your art style the most?
RPG friends and one of my big sisters friends, some random fun art styles I've come across while exploring various art sites. Also quite probably this one old Finnish painter Hugo Simberg to a degree.
What/who inspired you to be an artist?
Nothing or no-one, really. I've always liked drawing. I found a pen, I drew a line. I guess it just... came naturally.
What tools are integral to your current workflow? (e.g. Programs, brushes, references.)
...a very very old Photoshop and a mouse. Pencils and Promarkers and watercolours if my neck lets me. For years I've had this one brush set in Photoshop, I don't even remember its name, but I'm kinda lost without it. Fricking love that brush set. Also lasso tool is a friend.
I don't usually use references, I have a bad habit to just wing it (and sometimes fail miserably with something) even though I most definitely don't frown upon using references. They're useful and necessary -- and I don't know how to use them. 8'D
What improvements have you made recently?
...uh... huh? I.... I don't even know..? I've been mildly hating on my art for long now, so I haven't looked at it critically enough to know where I've improved and where I've not. You tell me? ;u;
What steps would you like to take in the future?
I would love to appreciate my art myself. I don't have any goals what comes to techniques or improving or anything, I would just love to see my art and... feel something positive about it. "You've been drawing for so long, you should be miles better", I want that mentality gone. :| If you happen to have any tips on this matter, please tell me!