I have been using photoshop for a long time. I am used to making rectangles and circles look 3d by using bevel and emboss. how does one accomplish this in illustrator?
I don't know what version you are using, but in illustrator CS2 you can go to the drop down menu under Effect and then choose 3D and then Extrude and Bevel. This is a bit different than Photoshop so you'll most likely have to play around with it for a bit.