Saw many others doing this!

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!)

Probably four, if I remember everything correctly.

What does your current username mean?

At one rpg forum I used Ray as my nickname, but of course because it's such a basic name, it was already taken in most of sites. So I had to invent something else. I was at high school and thought I was funny and genious when creating Rayhaaja. It's basicly Finnish word "Räyhääjä" (eng. rager or ruffian or rascal or something like that) but most of the sites don't allow Ä letter.

What is the first program you used to make digital art?

Paint! It's sad that my drawings from those time are nowhere to be found, it'd be lovely to look at them. I remember at least one, though. There was lion or mountain lion getting down on mountainside.

Where did you first start posting your art?

deviantArt was the place to be at those times.

What is the first piece of media you drew fanart for?

Ginga Nagareboshi Gin and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. I was so big fanboy of those!

Who was your first self-insert/persona/fursona? What did they mean to you?

Shocking news: I don't quite have any fursonas or something like that. Sometimes I use my wolf character Kiri (he's on my avatar, too) but he's still his own person, so I think it doesn't count... At one time I tried to draw myself as a fox, or a cat or a raccoon. It'd be nice to have fursona, perhaps I could still try creating one. It's just so hard to imagine what would represent me. What would it be when people look at it and immediatly think "Oh I see, it certainly is his!"

What phases/styles has your art gone through? (e.g. Did you have an anime era, a cartoon style, a watercolour phase?)

Most of the time I've been drawing, I used color pencils. Then at one time I had Promarker phase. Nowadays I'm pretty much 90% digital artist. And my style has always been cartoonish.

What/who do you think has influenced your art style the most?

2D animations and Ginga Nagareboshi Gin/Ginga Densetsu Weed. When being kid/teen, I often watched movies like Fox And The Hound, Balto, Spirit and drew along, sometimes pausing the show and drewing more detailed from the reference. I also printed screenshots from GNG/GDW manga panels and tried to copy their style.

What/who inspired you to be an artist?

Probably my need for storytelling. At first I wrote my ideas on computer, but soon it wasn't enough and I started to draw comics and trough that I became my own life's artist. :D

What tools are integral to your current workflow? (e.g. Programs, brushes, references.)

Clip Studio Paint is my main program and I've fell in love with it. And I still found new features from it that I didn't knew but which made my working way easier. :'D I have three main brushes and without them I'd be lost for a moment, one of them is called "Design brush" and it's soft and sketchy. Also, I'd be lying if I didn't mention references.

What improvements have you made recently?

I think I've managed to be braver with adding more shapes in my characters and drawings?

What steps would you like to take in the future?

It'd be lovely to start a comic, as my drawing started with those as kid. Also, animating seems interesting to learn, too! And of course I hope I manage to work as graphic designer, and get to produce books and other materials for children.