The creator of a “Buff Bernie” coloring book featured in Russian-backed Facebook ads that aimed to influence last year's presidential election says she feels “violated” her work was used without her permission.

Illustrator and filmmaker Nicole Daddona was looking for a way to ease tension and relieve stress during the 2016 presidential campaign, so she created a caricature of her favorite politician, Bernie Sanders.

She was shocked when she discovered images from the light-hearted book had been misappropriated to sow division among American voters.

“My mind was blown. It was very confusing and strange to me,” Daddona told the Daily News.

Russian-backed Facebook ads featured 'Buff Bernie'

Daddona, a Democrat who opposes President Trump, said she was completely unaware that her work had been lifted without her consent.

“I had no idea it was being used in that way. No one had asked me for permission to use the drawings,” she said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee released a selection of Russian-backed Facebook ads that aimed to influence the 2016 presidential election, earlier this month.

The House Intel Committee has release a sampling of Russia backed Facebook and Instagram ads. (House Intel Comm.)

A Facebook group called “LGBT United” supposedly posted the ad, saying, “You can color your own Bernie Hero!”

“There is a new coloring book calling ‘Buff Bernie: A coloring Book for Berniacs’ is full of very attractive doodles of Bernie Sanders in muscle poses,” the ad read.

It even referred to the coloring book’s author — Daddona — claiming “she wanted people to stop taking this whole thing too serious.”

The ad was one of several released by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, earlier this month.

Daddona said she wouldn’t want her work used without her consent, even to promote a message she supports. In this case, she feels doubly offended.

“I feel pretty violated that my art was used in that way. I did not vote for Donald Trump, so I didn’t want to have anything to do with supporting people who voted for him,” she said.

Nicole Daddona created the "Buff Bernie" coloring book featuring U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to quell anxiety around the 2017 presidential election. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

She hoped the coloring book would be “a positive influence in the world. I was hoping to make people laugh and make them happy. I thought it would be a fun way to focus on Bernie’s message while also relaxing,” Daddona told The News.

Nonetheless, she’s encouraged by the book’s response, and continues to make political art.

Daddona said she’s sold more than 4,000 copies of the book through Amazon and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

She’s launched a Kickstarter campaign for a “Talking Trump” pull string doll, “because I was tired of Trump pulling my strings and I wanted to pull his,” Daddona said.

The doll spouts, “Grab ’em by the p---y,” “Such a nasty woman,” and other Trump sayings.

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