Skeleton-Dactyl-Mini VS dactyl-manuform-tight

If you have access to a 3D printer, I would recommend handwiring a Skeletyl or Scylla.

if you are looking for a sculpted/keywell design I would start with something like the https://github.com/sanderboer/chonkybois or https://github.com/Bastardkb/Skeletyl then work on refining your needs from those ideas.

There's these made by Quentin, which can be mirrored for Skeletyl/Cnano.

Awesome. Do you think single-key RGB would be an issue? Would it add too many cables? I'm currently looking at the Skeletyl, but am intimidated by the four additional cables per LED.

If you have access to a 3d printer you could print something like a skeletyl or a dactyl manuform and then handwire it with some diodes and wires. That's the cheapest way I can think of.

I'd throw BastardKBs Keyboards into the mix as well as he's open sourcing all of his designs, for instance the Skeletyl or the Charybdis

You can take a look at the Skeletyl. It's a 5x3+3 design. Basically the upper three thumb keys of the one you posted and with 2 keys less on row 3 and 4.

a printed, blue Skeletyl

With these ideas in mind I went looking for images of keyboards that I thought would fit and came across the Tightyl by u/Okke (Github Repo). I loved the low-profile design. With a tent, the dactyl curve, and the 3-key thumb cluster, it was a perfect fit.

My end goal is to basically make a modified version of the Tightyl. Specifically, my goal is to make a Tightyl with the left hand side being 5x5 and the right hand side being 5x6, with built-in Kailh hot-swap socket posts.

This Tightyl build by u/moltarpdx is based on u/Okke's work (git, STL).