Creating the skeleton

Initial skeleton setup

Unlike other CVAT objects, to start annotating using skeletons, first of all you need to setup a skeleton. You can do that in the label configurator during creating a task/project, or later in created instances.

So, start by clicking Setup skeleton option:

Below the regular label form where you need to add a name, and setup attributes if necessary, you will see a drawing area with some buttons aside:

  • PUT AN IMAGE AS A BACKGROUND - is a helpful feature you can use to draw a skeleton template easier, seeing an example - object you need to annotate in the future.
  • PUT NEW SKELETON POINTS - is activated by default. It is a mode where you can add new skeleton points clicking the drawing area.
  • DRAW AN EDGE BETWEEN TWO POINTS - in this mode you can add an edge, clicking any two points, which are not joined yet.
  • REMOVE A DRAWN SKELETON POINTS - in this mode clicking a point will remove the point and all attached edges. You can also remove an edge only, it will be highlighted as red on hover.
  • DOWNLOAD DRAWN TEMPLATE AS AN .SVG - you can download setup configuration to use it in future
  • UPLOAD A TEMPLATE FROM AN .SVG FILE - you can upload previously downloaded configuration

Let’s draw an exampe skeleton - star. After the skeleton is drawn, you can setup each its point. Just hover the point, do right mouse click and click Configure:

Here you can setup a point name, its color and attributes if necessary like for a regular CVAT label:

Press Done button to finish editing the point. Press Continue button to save the skeleton. Continue creating a task/project in a regular way.

For an existing task/project you are not allowed to change a skeleton configuration for now. You can copy/insert skeletons configuration using Raw tab of the label configurator.

Drawing a skeleton from rectangle

In opened job go to left sidebar and find Draw new skeleton control, hover it:

If the control is absent, be sure you have setup at least one skeleton in the corresponding task/project. In a pop-up dropdown you can select between a skeleton Shape and a skeleton Track, depends on your task. Draw a skeleton as a regular bounding box, clicking two points on a canvas:

Well done, you’ve just created the first skeleton.