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Description
It's all over from here, folks.
Pokemon Beta will cease comic updates.

I'm deeply sorry about this. I am. It makes me very sad. Especially if it feels like out of the blue to you all.
I grew up with this story since 2009, basically since half a year I started regularly USING the internet!
I was proud of myself that I managed to start my own comic in 2010, without anyone's help. I'd been inspired by other comics like STLE, Mokepon, Just Gotta, Romeo, and others- I made quite a few friends too because of this comic, I found out.
It's been with me through an important part of my life.
It's shown me if I put my mind to something, I can do it.
I know I didn't update it often, at best of times only once a week. Then put up a big month or two of hiatus between chapters. Because of that, compared to my fellow peers here who make poke'comics, I didn't have much in the way of fans.

I wanted a more original Pokemon story, something cool. And I liked what I made, it entertained me, at least. And that's all that mattered. It's been so rad to have folks comment and respond to them. Thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart. I do like the story, though by now I see how flawed it is and how flawed it'll still be were I to continue it.

You might be asking, why?
Well, as I was working on chapter 8...I woke up one morning, and realized that.....this comic is taking too long to produce. I stopped deluding myself about how much of my life the comic was eating. Writing would take a month, granted I didn't work on it daily...but the drawing- getting the lineart of 30 pages done took a month, coloring another 2, and...there goes a third of a year. Finishing the comic would take another 2 years. And that's full-time working on it.

This. Fact. Heavily. Depresses me.
I get this...panicking surge of anxiety about how I'm wasting away my life for this.
I'm in my 20s now.
This can't go on. It just can't.
I have to graduate college next year.
I have to get a job.
I have to somehow convince folks my art is worth paying for and get a job I don't hate(hopefully with my art).
I have to save up to ensure the next time I see the love of my life I don't have to leave them for years after spending only a week with them irl.

I want to create stories and enrich people's lives but...this comic wasn't doing that. Not enough to warrant the hours, days, weeks, MONTHS I spend.
I've not gotten the growth of fans other pokemon comics have, and, even if I did, I've realized Smackjeeves is a very small pond comparatively. It wouldn't mean much in the end for my career, and I'm an artist, and that's what I need to spend my time on- getting a bigger audience, getting paid, stuff people scoff at and say 'sellout' to a creative just trying to pay bills. But I digress.

It was a good project I learned a LOT from doing. But...it's ran its course. I've noticed as I worked on it I'm trying to rush through it, get it out of my way. I'm sorry to follow suit of my fellow comickers I've grown side-by side with, but it's time to just move on.

Thanks so much for all your time here, with me. Oh, and, yes, the picture here is Barlo, his brother Paulis, and their sister Ivy when they were kids, before the Trygon happened.

If you all have questions, perhaps I'll make an art post answering them. I dunno. Either way, thanks again for reading this comic and this post.
All this sad news aside, if you have an interest in me, or my art, etc, then I recommend following my tumblr:
artietheferret.tumblr.com/arch… have it as archive just so you can see my work at a glance.

Description
It's all over from here, folks.
Pokemon Beta will cease comic updates.

I'm deeply sorry about this. I am. It makes me very sad. Especially if it feels like out of the blue to you all.
I grew up with this story since 2009, basically since half a year I started regularly USING the internet!
I was proud of myself that I managed to start my own comic in 2010, without anyone's help. I'd been inspired by other comics like STLE, Mokepon, Just Gotta, Romeo, and others- I made quite a few friends too because of this comic, I found out.
It's been with me through an important part of my life.
It's shown me if I put my mind to something, I can do it.
I know I didn't update it often, at best of times only once a week. Then put up a big month or two of hiatus between chapters. Because of that, compared to my fellow peers here who make poke'comics, I didn't have much in the way of fans.

I wanted a more original Pokemon story, something cool. And I liked what I made, it entertained me, at least. And that's all that mattered. It's been so rad to have folks comment and respond to them. Thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart. I do like the story, though by now I see how flawed it is and how flawed it'll still be were I to continue it.

You might be asking, why?
Well, as I was working on chapter 8...I woke up one morning, and realized that.....this comic is taking too long to produce. I stopped deluding myself about how much of my life the comic was eating. Writing would take a month, granted I didn't work on it daily...but the drawing- getting the lineart of 30 pages done took a month, coloring another 2, and...there goes a third of a year. Finishing the comic would take another 2 years. And that's full-time working on it.

This. Fact. Heavily. Depresses me.
I get this...panicking surge of anxiety about how I'm wasting away my life for this.
I'm in my 20s now.
This can't go on. It just can't.
I have to graduate college next year.
I have to get a job.
I have to somehow convince folks my art is worth paying for and get a job I don't hate(hopefully with my art).
I have to save up to ensure the next time I see the love of my life I don't have to leave them for years after spending only a week with them irl.

I want to create stories and enrich people's lives but...this comic wasn't doing that. Not enough to warrant the hours, days, weeks, MONTHS I spend.
I've not gotten the growth of fans other pokemon comics have, and, even if I did, I've realized Smackjeeves is a very small pond comparatively. It wouldn't mean much in the end for my career, and I'm an artist, and that's what I need to spend my time on- getting a bigger audience, getting paid, stuff people scoff at and say 'sellout' to a creative just trying to pay bills. But I digress.

It was a good project I learned a LOT from doing. But...it's ran its course. I've noticed as I worked on it I'm trying to rush through it, get it out of my way. I'm sorry to follow suit of my fellow comickers I've grown side-by side with, but it's time to just move on.

Thanks so much for all your time here, with me. Oh, and, yes, the picture here is Barlo, his brother Paulis, and their sister Ivy when they were kids, before the Trygon happened.

If you all have questions, perhaps I'll make an art post answering them. I dunno. Either way, thanks again for reading this comic and this post.
All this sad news aside, if you have an interest in me, or my art, etc, then I recommend following my tumblr:
artietheferret.tumblr.com/arch… have it as archive just so you can see my work at a glance.