A photo shows the original design of the monkey mascot of 2016's Spring Festival Gala. [Photo: qq.com]

A 3-D monkey mascot created for this year's Spring Festival Gala is being widely criticized online, in part, because of its strange facial appendages.

CRI's Liu Yuanhui explains.

The mascot, Kangkang, debuted on Thursday.

It's based on a colored ink prototype painted by well-known Chinese artist Han Meilin.

The 80-year-old is the man behind the famous "fuwa," the mascots for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

For the Spring Festival mascot, his design is a smiling monkey with only its round, hairy head in view, with his face in yellow, emerald green and rose.

Upon its release, criticism was almost immediate.

Numerous people have criticized the 3-D image for being either ugly or in bad taste.

Others say the body that has since been added to the original has also ruined Han Meilin's original idea.

And others have taken issue with the design itself, particularly the puffy areas below each of the monkey's ears which, Han says, is how a monkey's cheeks swell up when chewing.

3-D animation designers, including Zhao Xiansheng, are suggesting the monkey's design has gone against certain principles.

"A popular face is important for a cartoon figure, which can make the artwork itself more attractive to audiences. But obviously, this thing is not like that."

Han Meilin began working on the design of the monkey after being commissioned by China Central Television in November.

He says his design is inspired by the Monkey King of Chinese legend to create the image, and says he decided on the colors for its face based on Chinese cultural tradition.

Han Meilin says he was not shown the 3-D model before it was made public.

3-D designer Zhao Xiansheng is suggesting traditional painting isn't normally useful when it comes to 3-D designs.

"Creating a 3-D work is quite different from painting a 2-D picture. It requires a lot more thought when it comes to shading, color schemes and motion design. It would have been better if the monkey was animated first."

With more than a decade of experience in the sector, Zhao Xiansheng admits Chinese 3-D animators still need to hone their skills when it comes to the artistic side of things.

"China has some of the leading 3-D animation techniques in the world. However, Chinese 3-D designers are still somewhat weak when it comes to imagination and artistic expression."

The monkey's name, Kang Kang, means health in Chinese.

It's the first mascot ever produced for China Central Televisions's annual Spring Festival Gala.

This year's gala will be aired on February 7th, which is the eve of this year's Spring Festival.

CCTV has yet to respond to the criticism about Kang Kang's look.

For CRI, this is Liu Yuanhui.