There's a new Etch-A-Sketch in town. Etch-A-Sketch Freestyle has a single knob with 360 degree swivel that let's you draw curves so much smoother and easier than the traditional 2-knob Etch-A-Sketch. But curves aren't always so easy when using a computer mouse (or even a graphics pen).
Here is a collection of articles and tutorials to help you with drawing curves in desktop publishing and graphics software.
In The Language of Curves About.com Graphics Software Guide Sue Chastain introduces the terminology of curves in vector drawing. Do you know your bezier curves from your b-spline curves? Can you tell a node from a handle? You will after reading through these articles.
Mike Doughty of Mike's Sketchpad wants you to Practice Practice Practice using the Pen tool. These tutorials for Canvas, Illustrator, Photoshop, FreeHand, and CorelDRAW contain practice templates for learning to draw with the pen.
Kevin Hulsey explains Basic Drawing with Photoshop's Paths, Bezier Curves in this 2 page tutorial. He also covers Bezier Curves, Paths & the Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator CS2.
Making Curves is a brief Adobe Photoshop tutorial that shows how to use the pen tool to create a nice curved background for a Web page.
The videos at Adobe TV for Learning Adobe Illustrator CS4 include tutorials on paths, control handles, and using the Convert Anchor Point tool to create refined curves.
CorelHouse offers a tutorial on Drawing with the Bezier tool in CorelDRAW X3 which includes the basics along with shortcuts and "the magical way to master the Bezier tool." (OK, I'll tell you, it's one word: practice.)
Watch an animation from About.com Desktop Publishing showing how to Use the Pen Tool to Make Curves in Adobe InDesign. Then watch another animation showing how to Use the Pen Tool to Make Shapes which include curves and straight lines.
QuarkXPress has has bezier curves for many versions. In this CreativePro tutorial Renee Dustman shows you how to work with the bezier and freehand tools in QuarkXPress to draw flowers and leaves with lots of curves.
Learn a powerful but simple shortcut tip for the Bezier curve tool in QuarkXPress 8.
Even Windows 7 Paint has a basic bezier-like curve drawing tool. Learn to use the curve tool in Paint while you Draw a Heart.