AAHalf

The tip is to make your object 2x the final size, and work in AAHalf mode ... this image edges will look their best.

You can make a simple 3D object under Tool:

Click on either guy with the orange tab:  and see this:

Make a shape:  Get yourself in Edit mode:

A bunch of new icons, appear when your are in Edit:  

 ROTATE: or simply click on the canvas and drag:

 Move can also work using Alt-drag on the canvas

Scale:

 Spin is cool, try it.

Pivot points

Change draw size to 10 first:

Make a mark on the object:

Change to Local:

Alt-click the canvas to re-center the object:

Drag on the canvas to rotate ... the object now rotates around the mark you last made:

S-Pivot

First, Ctrl-Shift drag to isolate a selection:

Make sure Local is off. Turn on S-Pivot:

The object jumps to the middle and can now be rotated around the center of the visible part:

Ctrl-shift on the blank canvas to return visibility.
You have to click CPivot to return the pivot to the original object setting, or it will remain in the setting you made while it was isolated.

The Gyro

Right after you make an object and hit the Move tool, you will see the Gyro; select within it to MOVE; dragging over another object, it adapts to that surface:

If you drag on the GREY ring, the box will move but no longer adapt to the surface of the sphere:

Drag on a colored ring to completely constrain to the given axis:

the yellow at the center pushes in depth:

Clicking in the gyro area snaps it back:

Scaling the gyro is basically the same kind of business; just observe what axis you are scaling on:

Rotating the gyro ... here we confront something called the clipping plane, iow, the canvas does not have infinite depth:

Note under transform/Info you can see and access the XYZ values interactively.