The Story of TIGERS™ and VI COMICS™ – Created by Art VLADI NIK
From Lake Geneva to an American Comics & Cartoon Studio
TIGERS™ is an original character universe created by artist and designer Art VLADI NIK, founder and creator of VI COMICS™.
The story began in the Lake Geneva region, between France and Switzerland, where Art VLADI NIK started developing the first TIGERS™ characters, visual concepts and ideas.
What began as hand-drawn tiger designs gradually evolved through original paintings, sport, fashion, comics and character sketches into a larger cartoon universe — and eventually into VI COMICS™, an independent American comics and cartoon studio.
The Birth of TIGERS™ – June 2022
The earliest documented TIGERS™ character design dates to June 12, 2022.
The first character was Yellow Tiger.
In the earliest design, the number 16 appeared as a central visual element. The number has a personal meaning for Art VLADI NIK — it represents his birthday, September 16.
One day later, on June 13, 2022, the concept expanded with Blue, Green and Purple, establishing the colors that would later evolve into the four TIGERS™ brothers.
At this early stage, the characters were still experimental. Their colors, masks, faces and graphic elements were constantly developing.
The earliest documented TIGERS™ design – Yellow Tiger, June 12, 2022.
The TIGERS™ color universe expanded on June 13, 2022.
The First TIGERS™ Paintings
Only weeks after the first character designs, TIGERS™ moved from digital concepts into physical art.
On June 26, 2022, Art VLADI NIK created the first TIGERS™ paintings.
These early works introduced the characters into his Pop Comic Fine Art world and began connecting TIGERS™ with themes such as sport, money, humor and everyday life.
The paintings were an important step because TIGERS™ were no longer simply graphic symbols — they had begun to enter stories and situations.
The first TIGERS™ paintings, created June 26, 2022.
The 2023 Evolution
During 2023, the TIGERS™ design entered a new phase.
The early number 16, originally used around the eye and visor area, began to evolve. Later, the word VLADI became part of the visual identity around the eyes.
The characters also became increasingly connected with sport.
One important example was a custom Art VLADI Sport jacket created for the President of FISU, featuring Yellow Tiger playing golf.
This marked an important step: TIGERS™ were moving beyond paintings and into sport, wearable art, fashion and storytelling.
TIGERS™ character development sketch, 2023.
A custom Art VLADI Sport jacket created for the President of FISU, featuring Yellow Tiger playing golf, 2023.
From Graphic Symbol to Cartoon Character
A major transformation took place during 2025.
Art VLADI NIK began redesigning the characters with real cartoon eyes, stronger facial expressions, full bodies, clothing, movement and individual personalities.
The earlier visor-style faces gradually disappeared.
The TIGERS™ began to look and behave like real cartoon characters.
Hundreds of sketches explored different expressions, sports, poses, clothing and story ideas.
This was the stage where the project clearly moved from an art character concept toward a complete comic and cartoon universe.
Hand-drawn TIGERS™ character development sketches by Art VLADI NIK, 2025.
Supporting Characters & Sidekicks
As the TIGERS™ universe developed, Art VLADI NIK began creating supporting characters, sidekicks and other creatures around the four brothers.
One of the earliest was Cool Chicken, a small chick character created in 2023.
In 2025, the universe expanded with several new characters.
KiTi, the golden fish, became one of the new side characters.
Chief was also created in 2025. The character was inspired by a small plastic Native American warrior toy that Art VLADI NIK played with as a child, transforming a childhood memory into a new comic character.
Robo, a robot character, was developed in 2025.
The alien character Yupi was also created, expanding the universe beyond Earth.
The world continued growing with fictional planets and space concepts, including Marsi and other worlds intended for future TIGERS™ adventures.
Together, these characters helped transform TIGERS™ from four main heroes into a much larger universe filled with animals, robots, aliens, toys, planets and future stories.
Cool Chick / KiTi / Chief / Robo / Yupi.
Cool Chick (April 12, 2023) / KiTi (September 15, 2025) / Chief (September 20, 2025) / Robo (September 22, 2025) / Yupi (September 27, 2025).
The Creation of VI COMICS™
While the TIGERS™ universe was expanding, Art VLADI NIK began developing a dedicated studio and brand that could become the official home for the characters.
During 2025, he began sketching the first concepts for the VI COMICS™ logo and visual identity.
Many hand-drawn logo studies explored different versions of the VI symbol, the word COMICS and the overall studio identity.
The goal was clear: to create an independent studio focused on original characters, comics, cartoon concepts, coloring books and future animation projects.
Early VI COMICS™ logo development sketches by Art VLADI NIK, 2025.
VI COMICS™ – From Original Characters to an American Studio
In 2026, VI COMICS™ became an American company and independent comics and cartoon studio, founded and created by Art VLADI NIK.
The studio became the official creative home of the TIGERS™ universe and the platform for its future development across publishing, comics, cartoon, animation, collectibles, apparel and licensing.
The relationship is simple:
Art VLADI NIK is the founder and creator.
VI COMICS™ is the studio.
TIGERS™ is the original character universe.
VI COMICS™ – the independent American comics and cartoon studio founded by Art VLADI NIK.
The Four TIGERS™ Brothers
Today, the core TIGERS™ universe is built around four athletic tiger brothers:
Yellow Tiger, Green Tiger, Blue Tiger and Purple Tiger.
Each character has a different color, personality, role and visual identity.
Together they appear across comics, coloring books, original artwork, clothing, collectibles and future cartoon and animation projects.
Their world combines sport, humor, adventure, creativity, friendship and family.
The four TIGERS™ brothers – Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple.
From Lake Geneva to VI COMICS™
The TIGERS™ story began with a hand-drawn Yellow Tiger near Lake Geneva in 2022.
Over the following years, the project evolved through paintings, sport, fashion, character sketches, supporting heroes, comics and original worlds.
That evolution eventually led to the creation of VI COMICS™.
Today, VI COMICS™ continues to develop original characters, comics, coloring books, cartoon concepts, animation projects, collectibles, apparel and Pop Comic Art.
TIGERS™ is the flagship original character universe of VI COMICS™.
VI COMICS™ is the official home of TIGERS™ by Art VLADI NIK.
Discover the official TIGERS™ universe at VI COMICS™ → vicomics.com
