…okay, maybe not that many plans, but still too many.
Being a few days into the new year, I figure I’ll let you in on a few plans I have for this year. The first thing I want to point out is the One True Fan toolbar at the bottom of the website. It shares with the world who visits the site the most and shares links to the website the most. Every page viewed, every link shared, gives you points. The visitor with the most points is featured in the toolbar as the One True Fan. This recognition(and feeling of competition) will hopefully encourage people to share the site with others. Points expire after 2 weeks, so nobody’s going to hog the spot forever. If you hate extra site toolbars, you can hover over the right-hand side of it then hover over the X for hiding options(permanently or just for now). You sign into the toolbar with your Twitter or Facebook account, so no extra password-rememberin’ is needed. For more information, visit www.OneTrueFan.com.

Now for my plans for the rest of this year:

• Well, I don’t write checks, so getting used to writing 2011 isn’t high on the list. At the moment, the typo I’m making is typing 2001. Year change; no prob. Decade change; still have issues a full year in(depending on your definition of when a decade starts). I HAVE typed 2010 a few times, even though I was thinking 2011 each time. My fingers just need to get used to hitting the 1 instead. Really, it helps that I was thinking “2011” in the last few months of 2010. I’m already thinking of 2012 quite a bit. I have major plot points planned all the way into that year, and scattered ideas past that.
• New theme parks on Second Life. I’m actively working on a replacement for Kennyland(in a new location), which will likely be called Kenny World. It’s currently larger than Walt Disney World, although most of it will be water(at first), and that includes the water that extends past the usable area’s boundaries(scenery area). I also have 3 other theme parks in the planning stages, which are still in the “I ain’t talkin'” stage. I seriously hope I can get them up soon, because I already have the land for them. The Halloween attraction and the Christmas tree are still in those spots, and I don’t want to give those areas up because I know exactly what I want there. I just need to find the time to work on them, and Kenny World is higher priority because it’s freakin’ Kenny World!
• I have a game in the planning stages, and it’s not comic-related, although Kenny will be in it. The game will be on Second Life(surprise surprise) and is going to require a LOT of programming. My goal is for summer, but realistically I’m not even sure it’ll be finished by the end of the year. Beta, at least? Since I expect this game to be a big deal, I’m not divulging any other details. I haven’t even bought land for it because it’s so far down the timeline.
• Animated cartoons! I have a few ideas I’m eager to get started on, and one’s in the storyboarding stages. None will be Kenny-related. At all.
• Time management! I’m quite sure at least one of the mentioned plans will not get done this year. I’m keeping the comic schedule at twice-weekly so that I at least have some hope of getting other projects done. I’m also hoping that by mentioning these plans, however vague they are, I will feel a stronger need to finish them. I figure at least one 1-minute cartoon will be made, and the other plans have a strong chance of being finished. Especially the parks, because I’m renting land for them. I’m making more money than ever on Second Life, thankfully, but it’s still less than a quarter of what I’m spending. I’m debating giving up 1/4 of my land and setting up one of the parks at Kenny World or somewhere above another park. The Halloween attraction, surprisingly, is still getting a few visitors a day. The problem with giving up a parcel of land is that the land I have is in a high-traffic area that catches a lot of walk-through traffic, so each park should be ground-level.

So there you have it. Stuff to look forward to this fine year, or at least to place bets on.

(Just a reminder: I’m taking Thursdays off this month, so this is the last no-comic Thursday until next December. And now, a special message for cartoonists & graphic designers…)

Want a quality font for your comic? One that isn’t used by every other comic? This weekend, Comicraft is holding their annual New Year’s Day sale where all their fonts, including ones that normally cost more than $300, are sold for $20 and some change. The price is always based on the year, so this weekend, you can get a font for $20.11. I used this sale a few years ago for the font I currently use on Kenny Chronicles. It was a $99 font(International version), so I got 79.7% off during New Year’s Day 2009! Yay! If you need a great font for either a comic, logo, commercial illustration, or whatever, I highly recommend taking advantage of this one-day-only sale. Find it at www.comicbookfonts.com.

And because I’m not benefiting in any way from the link, I’ll also point you to Blambot. They’re the most-used font source for webcomics(as far as I know), because of their wide selection of free fonts. The pay fonts cost $20 every day. If you need international characters, be sure to check the font’s info, because not all of them have the necessary accent marks. Believe me, adding accent marks & upside-down punctuation is too much work if you don’t have an international font. I was mixing 3 different fonts on the Spanish version before I bought “¡Los Vampiros!” on Comicraft’s sale, and even then I had to draw accent marks manually on some letters.

Whatever you do, DON’T USE COMIC SANS.