How to paint bender with your fingers.

Look at Bender! So cuddly, so wrinkly. Grab your plates and put your darks on one, lights on another, thin gray on a third and let's get to painting!

First, cover your canvas with a thin even coat of gray paint. This will allow all other colors to blend together as we go. Next, sketch Bender's outline on the canvas.

Block in the background with a dark brown and black mixture. With umber, start blocking in Bender's body color.

Add some Sienna to your fingers to start Bender's wrinkles and shadows. Pay attention to the direction of fur, and use your fingers accordingly.

Add some black to your clean index finger and add the darkest shadow right underneath Bender's body. Also block in his nose and mouth area. Sketch in his ear as well.

With more black, go into detail on both the ear and mouth. Clean your hand and go back in with some red and white to get the pink for the mouth and inside of the ear.

Work on his wrinkles a bit more. I used straight white and allowed it to pick up the browns as I went. With black on the pinky, block in the eye shape.

Keep working the wrinkles and face area with lighter colors playing off the dark folds of skin. We're getting close!

Mire black on the pinky, working on the mouth a bit more. Add the "whisker dots" onto Bender's mouth with straight black on your pinky.

Add some yellows and white to your fingers and work out his shoulder and the rest of his body. Again. Follow the contour of his fur as if giving Bender a massage.

Step back from it and view it from a distance. Adjust anything minor that jumps out at you. Once you are ready, add red to your pinky and sign your work.

Thanks for painting with me! Follow me for more creative projects and helpful tips. You can also view my online art gallery at pinterest.com/justinballew.

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