ILM
I know exactly what you mean. One of the reasons I work with
computers for art rather than paint is the concept of UNDO (even
though 3DS doesn't have it, but that's another story <g>). I enjoy
being able to adjust and tinker with stuff until it's perfect. I'm a
perfectionist.
It's not the technical things that make good art good, though. It's
the idea behind it. If you have creativity, doing something creative
in one area can help you in another area. You can get all the
information you want from design books, but that doesn't necessarily
mean it'll be used properly. Take a look at some movies that are
beautifully shot, but have really weak story lines. You come away
thinking "What a bad movie". If, however, a director does something
really clever and is a great storyteller, the acting is good, but the
film stock is garbagey and the colours of the objects in the film
don't match each other, you still may walk away thinking "What a
great movie".