Custom Forms With .Net Controls

Question

Hello all. This is my first post in C# Corner. I hope you could help me with my problem.
My problem is actually a two-part problem.
First: How do I make a custom form? I've read several tutorials on line that dealt with creating a GraphicPath object. Another replacing the form's Region property with a new one. But I want a better solution. I want something that is both efficient and elegant. In a tutorial (can't remember the link, but I'll search for it), the author actually suggested putting a background image for the form and setting a transparency key via an ImageAttributes object and drawing it via Graphics.DrawImage() method. It's a nice way, but is it efficient? I mean, going by this method, I'd need an image for every little thing that the program would do... Including controls! So, my first question summarized is: What's an efficient way of making custom forms? Preferably with an image.


Second: How do I put .Net controls on the newly created custom form? I want to define my buttons, but I want to able to use the default controls the .Net library has! So, any help is welcomed!