Support Skelly: A Unique Tale of Mental Health

Help Me Bring Skelly to Life – For Everyone Who’s Ever Struggled in Silence

Hi, I’m Kayla M. Davis—a Black, queer, award-winning animation creator and the voice behind Skelly, an original indie animated series that explores grief, corporate burnout, and mental health through a surreal, chaotic, and heartfelt lens.

What is Skelly?

At its core, Skelly is about Sarah, a high-achieving Black woman who’s unraveling in silence—and the skeleton who lives in her closet and runs a bar in there. Yes, literally.

It’s a dark comedy with a heart. It’s weird, raw, and funny—but also painfully real for anyone who’s ever hidden their pain just to get through the day.

It’s BoJack Horseman meets Inside Job, with a whole lot more soul, sass, and lived experience.

We Had a Successful Kickstarter... But It Was the Bare Minimum

Thanks to an amazing community, we fully funded Skelly through Kickstarter. But that campaign only covered the bare minimum needed to get production started. I stretched every penny as far as it could go—but production is expensive, and there’s still work to do.

We're in the final leg: animation polish, voiceover cleanup, sound design, and music. But now, I need help again. And this time, I’m asking from a deeply personal place.

My Life Right Now

I recently lost my full-time job. I’m also dealing with a painful, unstable home life. Emotionally, financially—I'm running on fumes.

But even when everything else feels like it's falling apart, I still believe in Skelly.

Because Skelly is what kept me going. And I believe it can help others the way it helped me.

My Bigger Vision: Changing the Animation World for the Better

I don’t just want to finish Skelly—I want to reshape the way indie animation works.

Too many stories never get made because the system isn’t built for people like us.

Too many creators are overworked, underpaid, and unseen. Too many people give up before they ever get to share what’s inside them.

I want to change that.

That’s why I’m building Good Bones, a consulting and outreach firm focused on indie animation and mental health. My goal is to help marginalized creators get their work off the ground, understand the process, and survive the mental and emotional toll of doing this work alone.

How You Can Help

Your support will directly help us:

Pay animators, sound designers, and artists to finish the pilot

Share Skelly publicly with festivals, studios, and YOU

Build the groundwork for Good Bones—a space where more voices can rise

Show struggling creators that they’re not alone, and their stories matter

Final Thoughts

Skelly will have the greatest impact when it’s out in the world, reaching those who—like me—can relate to Sarah’s spiral, her silence, her loneliness… and her will to keep going.

If you’ve ever struggled with your mental health, chased a dream through burnout, or wanted to feel seen in a story—you’re already part of the Skelly family.

Thank you for helping me finish what I started, and for believing in a world where weird, raw, important stories like this get told.

With love and deep gratitude,

Kayla M. Davis

Creator & Director, Skelly