photoshop frustration

[dogs rule]

What is the best way to draw an outline of a box using a Wacom pen? Not a filled box but just the outline? And, what is the trick for selecting inside and outside of an image? For example, you select around the outside of a donut - but also want to select the inside hole?

I'm having trouble doing the most simple tasks. All the photoshop books and tutorials cover the slick, cool stuff and I just need the basics.
What is the best BASIC photoshop book/tutorial all you experts recommend. I am not a photographer but an illustrator and am making a huge effort to learn to use a Wacom tablet for simple black line illustrations - but can't even draw a box!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[rAyVoLvEz]

Why don't u use a pentool and paths for drawing outlines, may not give u the "drawing" feel of a wacom pen, but at least I find using the pen tool easier to select objects.

[digfects]

I use a Wacom tablet & Pen, the best way to draw a straight line is the Pen Tool.

To select the inside of your box draw a marquee around the internal frame of the box and on a new layer fill with any colour, then add a layer mask to this layer and the reduce the layer fill to 0(Zero).

Then all you have to do to make a selection of the inside is to CTRL Click the mask thumbnail.
If you know about Alpha Channels these are even better to use!

[mixedupmacandpc]

Digfects, I hate to say welcome to the club (again) but think about this for a minute:
black line art using wacom and photoshop? Kinda like when you try and use a straight edge screwdriver on a phillips head screw. I think you would be much better off in Illustrator. Here's why (screen shot of tools that PS lacks and Illustrator has):
http://www.extreme-nepal.com/forumboards/illust.png
Trying to draw line art using the pen tool, while it works for some folks, for others is nothing but a pain in the bum. Drawing a square or line should not take more then one or tops 2 clicks with a tablet, or heck, your line art is going to take (web) years to complete. That, coupled with PS's frustrating support of the tablet in general (PS treats the pen essentially as it does a plain old mouse) makes doing a bit of line art in PS a hassle. Another nice tool albiet crazy interface for line art is Manga Studio by e-frontier. All the manga artists use it with great results (although the learning curve is steep). But this program plays well with Wacom just as Corel Painter plays well with Wacom when you are wanting to paint. Well, not sure if this helps except to hear that someone else feels ur pain...
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