Mr Skelly: The Hand-Drawn Skeleton Taking Over Social Media
From Tasmania to a Global Audience
Christian Watson, an American artist now living in Tasmania, has built a massive online following with his unique animated skeleton characters, known as Mr Skelly.
"The project has grown from 300,000 to over 8 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok in just three years."
The Art Process: A Family Affair
Watson’s method is painstakingly manual. He begins by filming his family, then hand-draws skeletons over the video to capture realistic, human-like movement. The backgrounds are hand-painted digitally, using photographs as reference.
The videos are typically seven seconds long, and feature quotes on themes such as grief, regret, love, and gratitude.
A Small, Handpicked Team
To manage the demand, Watson employs a small team of artists he met through Instagram. He also collaborates closely with his wife, artist Elle-May Watson.
Inspiration from the Coast
The family lives in Nubeena, a coastal town on the Tasman Peninsula. Watson credits the local landscape as a direct source of inspiration for his background art.
A Vocal Stance Against AI
Watson is a vocal critic of artificial intelligence in art. He has cited serious concerns about artists losing work, and about their creations being stolen to train AI models without consent or compensation.
"Watson is a vocal critic of the use of artificial intelligence in art, citing concerns about artists losing work or having their work stolen to train AI models."