🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello. I'm an Illustrator novice, as you will be able to tell from my question. I'm somewhat familiar with the gradient mesh tool as well as the raster effects that Illustrator CS3 offers, but I can't figure out how to use them to do what I have to do.

Here's my situation. I'm creating a logo design. It is a musical note with a flame coming off of it. I want to add the appearance of the shape having shadows (yellow for the light areas, and red for the shadowed areas).

I can't get the gradient mesh tool to work because I'm assuming the shape is too complex. I understand that I could probably just create a bunch of different gradient mesh areas and just try to mesh them together, but is this necessary? ...and is chopping my shape into mulitple sections really the best method ? (it sure doesn't seem like the logical solution).

Then I tried using Illustrators blur effects. I'm concerned to even use them for a logo design, because the "blur" effect is raster, and with a logo; it's probably not wise to use anything raster, correct? Anyway...i can't get it to work. I created a shape using the pen tool to replicate the shape of the shadow. When i blur it, the blur is visable outside the original logo shape. I don't know how to make it stop at the path edge. Does anyone know how?

If anyone can please help me here, I would be more than grateful. I realize these questions probably stupid ones, but I just can't seem to figure out how to do this, despite reading tutorials and watching numerous youtube videos on the gradient mesh tool; I can't seem to figure out how to adapt it to my situation.

Here is the image I created in Photoshop. I am trying to duplicate it in Illustrator CS3.

[URL=http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=surefiremusicnote.jpg][IMG]http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9348/surefiremusicnote.jpg[/IMG][/URL]