Ready Art Explains the Growth Lab - Episode 012 (Patreon)

This is a series of posts where I answer questions I get from you inside and outside the Patreon about what the fug is happening in the Growth Lab.  Check the featured tags for the whole series.

"What are the differences between the comic and animation versions of your characters (Outside of Hannah and Karen now growing FMG)?  What I mean is, how much difference is there between the main cast of your comics and the same cast in your animations?  What subtle differences did you change between them that I probably don't see?  Example how different is Luna from the comic from the one in the animations even though they're the same person?  I'm not talking physically because none of them look any different between comic and animation, I'm talking things like attitude, demeanor, personality.  I'll throw in the main cast from Road Drive, Luna, Hannah, Karen, Naomi, and Alexander.  What's different between their comic character vs their animated counterparts?   "

For me I think there is basically no difference between the two casts. The way I am looking to work the animations is they are stories in the same universe and set at different moments than the comics. There might be some overlap coming down the line or some slight re-imagining of the comics here and there. Overall though, all the people and actions you are seeing here are happening in the comics as well. If there are direct conflicts then it would be a case by case to see which is the 'canon'. Generally speaking the more recent version would likely be the one considered accurate. 

 "What is it about Ultima that Luna is fascinated and intrigued in?  Luna already has the largest chest and has grown to immeasurable sizes, so what's special about Ultima that has caught Luna's curiosity and attention?"

As for the Luna and Ultima relationship. In my head canon the thinking is Ultima is one of the first confirmed batteries outside of Luna. I think the idea I work with is Luna relates to Ultima on that level. When we aren't following Ultima around my imagination is she is working on various ways to control the growth better and possibly provide some sort of immunization. I should be clear that Ultima is NOT a scientist exactly. She is more like a smart person working in the Air Force/Space Force in the research division. My point is she is not some super intellect like Luna. She is mostly capable and perceptive with a great personality. 

"1.  Does Ultima still have an issue remembering stuff after shrinking down from her grown state or have we gotten past that part and she doesn't have that problem anymore or have you nixed that part from her like it never happened in the first place?

2.  In what ways is Ultima trying to control her growth?  Also, what do you mean by immunization?  By that, I'm assuming you mean that Ultima doesn't want to have any more growth experiences or is it something else?

3.  What type of personality does Ultima have exactly and what mental alterations does she have in her grown state?  Is she still a bit sensitive and ashamed about having grown like she first did in the comics?"

1. That hasn't been fully explored. At the moment in the comics it's not a big talking point.  

2. Ultima and all the people in the GLab Universe would like to see the growth gone or controlled for the most part. Ultima is no different in that sense. She is one of the team working on a way to eliminate the growth energy.  

3. This is another one that hasn't been fully explored at the moment. She has the same basic alterations most have when grown though, yes, she does get embarrassed. At this point she is a little more used to it.  

4 Extra. I will add one thing about Ultima. In the GLab Universe she would be regarded as an attractive person. Most people when they meet her will think something along the lines of "wow, that is a VERY good looking lady". Not all of course but the VAST majority. 

"Won't it be extremely difficult to eliminate the growth or even control it?  For one isn't there some semblance of energy in every part of the world?  Even if there was an answer on how to eliminate/control the energy, wouldn't there be those who would stand in the way of that and either not want this to happen and/or intentionally make the issue much more problematic and make it a much more difficult if not impossible task?  I'm more than sure that there are those who could/would/can easily do that.  All it would take would be for one person to completely sabotage the way to be rid of this energy once and for all and send those trying to be rid of it back to square one and would have to start the process all over again from scratch."

Yes!I would be and is pretty much impossible at this stage for the complete elimination of the growth energy. Most of the time they are looking for ways to minimize or redirect the power. You are correct in the GLab universe at this point every person on the planet has at least a trace element of the energy (again, not really explored in the comics too much) 

I think one think to remember when talking about the growth energy and the way people are handling it "in universe" is to remember that what WE know is not what THEY know. I know that every person is infected since that is what I have in my head canon. I also know that it's a fool's errand to try and total eradicate it since that might well mean the end of the GLab universe and that ain't happening! haha

I guess the point here is there is most definitely a difference in the knowledge people like Luna, Ultima and others are working from. They may have suspicions about what has happened but they can't confirm many of those. Mostly they are doing what they think is the best thing based off what they personally have seen or their associated have verified. Still, we know the REAL score. hahahah 

"1. what growth type is Trisha in the animations?  She's obviously not a Giga or a Mega because we have not seen FMG from her and she's also not a Battery because her breast size is too small.  So she's either a Standard or a Generator.

2. Another thing I've been meaning to ask.  Is there another Giga like Karen in the animated universe?  I mean there are multiple Generators (Naomi, Mika, and possibly Trisha if she is one), multiple Batteries (Luna and Ultima) and also multiple Megas (Hannah and Leslie) so I'm wondering if there's a second Giga out there that you haven't introduced us to yet.

3. One more thing, if you could, could you mention the complete list (from memory of course) of all the females that we've seen in the animations and their growth types if you can just so I know in future animations.  I know most of them (obviously), but a complete female roster would be nice."

1. Trisha hasn't been rated officially by the Earth crews so the jury is still out on her.

2. Also there are definitely more of all types of growth personnel around. Some new types too. The ones we are seeing are on the identified and rated by the committees that Luna started to study the effects. So yah, many more and some quite strong!

3. As for the list of ladies in the animations, I don't have that off the top of my head. Probably would have to go back and look at all the animations to do that. Perhaps at sometime down the road there will be some sort of credits list for all those animations.. haha! 

"1.  How much is Luna valued in this universe?  It seems sometimes she is respected but other times she's nothing more than a laughingstock and used as nothing more than a living, breathing sex doll when she's grown.  She also seems to have some value after the stuff she's done (or sometimes what she's supposedly done) that she always gets demoted instead of discharged.  I'm just guessing she's just too valuable to get rid of or she's just being set up to fail or possibly put in a position where she could easily get blamed for something that she had nothing to do with or a combination of all three

2.  Have you thought of any growth types that could be considered as hybrid?  Could someone exhibit a type of growth that could be considered one or the other?  Like for example, a female grower could grow a massive amount of muscle like a Giga but also grow massive breasts like a Battery or a Generator.  So basically the types could be Giga/Battery where she could have a large breast size and absorb energy like Luna and grow massive amounts of muscle like Karen or a Giga/Generator where she could like I said grow massive amounts of muscle and also be able to generate their own energy like Naomi."

 1. Things can change but at this point it’s pretty safe to say Luna is one of the main protagonists if not the main protagonist in the current Growth Lab comics. Whether one likes her or not we are following her around the most. Now, a lot of that is due to the fact I like drawing her and I love big boobs so there’s that.  Still to look a little deeper I would say she is actually one of the more important characters. Her goal is to reverse the problems she created with the Growth Lab energy. She’s knows she is basically the one who caused a world wide outbreak and she feels she should be the one to help reverse it. In effect to remove the growth energy from the planet completely and harness it like she intended (space flight, powering machines, etc.). That’s all background stuff of course.   Within the government she is HIGHLY valued. They might demote her but they want her around not just to watch but for her work. As I was mentioning about the way things work. The people in the comic don’t know what we know. The reverse is we don’t see everything that is going on. Many people are having outbreaks and ending up in compromising situations so it’s not like Luna stands apart in her sexual escapades. Bill, Karen, Gary and many others have their moments that aren’t documented by the comics. The way the authorities deal with it is they are looking at some of the outbreaks as ‘the price of doing business’.

2. At the moment there are no documented types beyond the ones listed. I have an idea for a few more. Hybrids are semi there already with Giga’s being a somewhat amped up Mega (a variation if you will). Beyond that things are always a possibility but for the story sake (what there is of it, haha) I think sticking with fewer is better. Things can always change later but once we start having tons of variants and hybrids it might be a little much for people (and me) to follow. 

"1.  Towards the end of Road Drive, Hannah's breasts grew immensely large when she had an orgasm, did the orgasm cause the added breast growth or was it just a coincidence that they grew when it happened?  If it's the former, I thought orgasms were supposed to relieve them of their growth, not exacerbate it.

2.  Since both Hannah and Leslie are both Megas, what are the differences between them if there are any?  Same could be asked between Naomi and Mika being Generators and Luna and Ultima being Batteries?

3.  Can Luna absorb energy while growing or in a grown state or can she only do it when she's at her original height and size?

4.  Is Giga the highest and biggest growth type there is to date?

5.  What's the difference between an orgasm and blowing in this universe?  At the end of The Interrogation, Naomi voluntarily released fluid from her breasts caused by her orgasm and then an explosion happened afterwards.  Before that occurred, Hannah had told Luna specifically to hold it in and to not blow and release the energy.  If Luna had blown, it would've been unintentional merely because she couldn't hold it in anymore and she was told not to by Hannah whereas Naomi did blow and it clearly was intentional.  Now am I completely right on that assessment or am I half right on that?"

1. Generally speaking, orgasms cause people to revert to their normal height and weight. There are exceptions and times when there is more energy to release and in those times there will need to be a larger sexual release or some sort of decom from another source.   

2. At the moment there are ratings from one to ten for each of the different types. The level 1 being the weakest version and the level 10 being the strongest version. The scale actually progresses higher but we haven’t had any official ratings beyond 10. Luna and Ultima are the only ‘mentioned’ ratings at this point. They are both Level 10 batteries.   

3. Luna can absorb energy at any time. Doesn’t matter if she is at her normal size or not.  

4. Giga is only the name for the most extreme strength class. In that respect it’s the ‘strongest’ rating for sheer pound for pound strength. A Giga the same height and weight as a Mega would GENERALLY be much stronger in terms of raw strength. This would not mean it’s any sort of automatic win though. As for size the Giga is not the largest size person we have seen.  

5. The Term "Bursting" as it is used in the GLab series Bursting/blowing is a term (in universe) for people who are about to unload all their energy. This in normally followed by a return to regular size. The synonym in universe would be 'blowing' or 'busting'. This can also be conflated with a sexual release. 

"1.  Outside of growth and the characters, what would you say is/are the most important part(s) that are in both your comic and animated stories that it just wouldn't be as good and wouldn't be the same stories without that/those certain elements?(edited)

2.  Outside of Naomi, who could emit energy and infect others just like she can?

3.  What causes Luna to go bonkers on occasion whenever she's growing or on the verge of growing?  Others seem just fine by comparison as opposed to Luna.  She seemed to be in a hysterical state while growing and busting out of her suit in The Interrogation and also seemed to have slight snap of hysteria before growing in Road Drive.  Is she being overwhelmed by so much energy that it causes a slight meltdown or is it something else?  Nobody else seems to have that issue before/during growth, so why does Luna?"

1. I think the fact I am working on a universe of people that is part of one big narrative makes things a lot easier. I aim to have a sense of continuity from comic to comic and animation to animation. Doesn't mean I always succeed but it does help me work from page to page or frame to frame as I go. Another is to just relax and be goofy. It’s not SUPER important to have everything make sense but there should be a bit of fun in things. This is about growing boobs and giant women for the most part. Haha  

2. There are a few others. Benton is technically a generator as well though I don’t think I’ve called it out directly in the comics.   

3. Again, there are other people who go through a spell similar to Luna, the thing is we just don’t have a lot of focus on stories outside of Luna. Mostly it’s a bit of overwhelming energy. As for the bonkers part I think we have seen a lot of people go a little grow crazy (Bill and Karen come to mind, as does Benton and Naomi) so Luna isn’t unique in this respect. 

"When you were creating the G-Lab comic, did you always plan on having Luna as your main character before you started the series and waited to bring her in later to replace Naomi in the role or was it sometime during the early chapters that you thought of Luna and decided to put her in the main role?  If it was the former, then why have someone who you weren't planning to have as your permanent main character be in that role?  Was Naomi just put in that position just to build her up (no pun intended) throughout the early part of the comic to show how much of a threat she could be and to make Luna a credible character when the time was right to introduce her into the story and to have her and Naomi clash just to establish that Luna is a big deal (again no pun intended) and that she was gonna be here for the long haul as the main character?" 

Naomi and Luna were never created to be mains of the series. By that I mean, the story just goes where it will and I find characters which are interesting to follow. Naomi was the most interesting one for a while but that was about 20 years ago. I think at the time I was looking to do something like a Village of the Giants meets Hulk TV series. What happened after GLab 11 was the introduction of the bigger picture of the GLab universe. This would be the government factions and the reasons behind the growth energy in the first place.   

I’ll be the first to admit there was never a whole lot of cohesion in general but if we are talking about the people and who is intended to be the main characters then here are few thoughts.  

One, the main character is the one I will have the most fun drawing or who I think will get in the most transformation situations I will want to draw. This is all my personal opinion of course.   

Two, in terms of what happens as characters fall in and out of the story; what I aim to do it make them act as reasonable as they can within the admittedly weird universe, they are in. I do aim to make them consistent from book to book even if they aren’t around for a while.  

When I want a massive character change, I will normally introduce a new character and give them a short run to see how they fit in. If that seems good, they stay, if not they fade into the background.   

Hope that helps, mostly it’s a write by feeling process. 

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OK! Hope the one or two of you that read this far enjoyed the look into the Growth Lab behind the scenes! 

Thank you again and thank you so much for your support!

I appreciate it!

-Ready