I know what you mean about curves sometimes looking like sausage rejects. I think you are right that it has to do with symetry. "Smiles" probably compound the problem as reading even minor differences in facial expressions is hardwired into our brains.

One trick for drawing symetrical curves like a smile is: Turn on grid display and then use the shape editor tool set to 'make curve' to draw a line between two points. It will have two handles. Adjust those handles using the displayed grid to keep things symetrical. You can add additional smooth nodes if that suits the curve you are trying to achieve.

To make the smile you are trying to do, I'd then use the line gallery to give my curved line rounded ends. I'd play with line thicknesses to see how it looks. If fine tuning were required I might then convert the line (or rather a copy of it) to a shape and use the shape editor tool to adjust as needed.

Hope these suggestions help.

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>