D3 Tips and Tricks (PDF)
Introduction to graphics with D3.
Covers graphs (the sort you see in the male vitality ads, not nodes/arcs) at this point with more promised to follow.
You are going to have to learn the basics and this will get you started.
BTW, follow the blog as well: http://www.d3noob.org/
I first saw this in a tweet by Christophe Viau.