If you are interested in taking control of the build and upload process try this little exercise.
Try to find the parts to build an Arduino sketch from the command line, i.e. run avr-gcc from the command line.
The best place to start is with the C++ (.cpp) file that is built by the Arduino IDE. If the sketch is called foo.pde, the cpp file is called foo.cpp.
Once you figure that out, keep working through until you can upload with avrdude.
With that lot understood, you'll have a clearer view about how Arduino IDE, and AVR Studio, as well as the raw command line tools fit together, and can work. You'll be able to tackle projects like ATtiny's more easily.
It will take a bit of digging around, so do it as a lower priority activity.
HTH
GB