A Creative Workbook Based On Toreno Winn's Drive With Illenium

Toyota and UPROXX have teamed up for The Next Gear, a new series that puts emerging creatives on a ride-along in the All-Electric C-HR. Joining our creatives in a mentor role is Grammy-nominated DJ, producer, and songwriter Illenium, ready to talk creativity, big dreams, and how to build a career that lasts. This time out, LA stylist and designer Toreno Winn rode shotgun, digging into how Illenium built a fanbase that sticks with him, how to put a personal aesthetic into actual words, and how to stop sitting on finished work and get it out into the world.

We walked away from this one with a list of things we wanted to try on our own stuff, so we’ve built a companion workbook to go with the episode — actionable advice and creative practices you can run on whatever you’re making right now.

This workbook does not assume you have clients, a team, a following, or anything you’ve put out. But if you’re a creator in any field, these tools will help you take things to The Next Gear.

SECTION 1: BUILDING COMMUNITY

“Your fan base is almost family-oriented — How have you built that from the ground up?” — Toreno

“Always being present, always being engaged, and really caring about their opinions to an extent — you have to be your own artist.” — Illenium

WORKSHEET 1.1 — DEFINE YOUR CIRCLE

Who they are	How they found the work	What they've responded to	Have I ever spoken to them directly?

What's one thing that multiple people have communicated to me? Would they grow with me?

“I think your vulnerability in your music helps… when there’s a true level of pain that you’ve helped someone sort out mentally, there’s a connection, a bond.” — Toreno

“A hundred percent. Mixing that with being available to an extent… just take a second out of your day, or a moment online, to interact.” — Illenium

WORKSHEET 1.2 — THE PRESENCE PLAN

The one place my people actually gather (comments, group chats, Discord, class, etc How will I show up for my community in those spaces? One thing I'll do every time I'm there

Draw a line. Care about their opinions “to an extent,” but stay your own artist.

The feedback I take from my audience The feedback I ignore

SECTION 2 – WORLD BUILDING

“If you had to put in words what the world of your work is, how would you describe it?” — Illenium

WORKSHEET 2.1 — PUT IT INTO WORDS

My work in one sentence The technical thing I nerd out on What I'm secretly building

If someone described my work back to me and got it wrong, what's the word they'd use? What's a motif from another discipline - a film, a game, an era, a place - that I reference in my own work?

“When I’m getting ready to write an album I really think about the story first… the overall vibe and what am I inspired by. That comes with a story and a sound and a general world. It doesn’t need to be perfectly dialed.” — Illenium

WORKSHEET 2.2 — THE WORLD, WRITTEN DOWN

	Write it
The story this body of work is telling
The place it happens (real or not)
Who lives there — the person wearing it, hearing it, using it
What's inspiring me right now, specifically
The palette — colors, materials, textures, sounds
What is not allowed in this world

THE PALETTE TEST

Hold the next thing you make against the table above. Does it fit this world you're creating? If it doesn't fit, does it change the world in an interesting way or is it a distraction from what you're trying to build?

WORKSHEET 2.3 — HOUSE CODES

“A lot of fashion designers keep building on a on a passive setting. They have their house codes, they have their key aesthetics” – Toreno

A. My House Codes Three things that carry forward no matter what the next project is.

1.
2.
3.

B. The next cycle.

What carries forward untouched

What gets pushed further instead of replaced The one thing I'm retiring What will keep this interesting for me long-term?

SECTION 3 – FEEDBACK & WORKSHOPPING

“You have trusted ears — people you trust artistically. I think you need that. I think anybody needs that.” — Toreno

“If I work ten, twenty hours on something and I think it’s decent, but then I send it to that group of people — if it’s not unanimous, I’ll literally throw it away…But there’s also a type of artistry where you trust yourself so fully that you know best. — Illenium

WORKSHEET 3.1 — THE ROOM

Name	What they're good at seeing	Last thing I showed them

Who on this list only ever tells me it's great? Who's missing — someone from outside my discipline? Who does not get a vote, and why?

WORKSHEET 3.2 — MY GOLDEN RULE

Write the rule now, while you’re not in love with anything.

How many people are in my room? My rule when the room is split The one exception I'm allowed to make The date I'll open the archive and revisit

WORKSHEET 3.3 — COLLABORATING

A. When someone new works on my thing. What do they need to know before they touch it?

The world, in one line What I've been into lately, specifically What I've already done that I don't want repeated back to me The thing I'd love to be pushed on

Where I draw the line — where 'new' becomes 'not me'

B. When I’m the one hired. Before the next job with someone new:

What of theirs have I actually looked at? What are they into right now, not five years ago What I won't hand back to them as a copy of themselves

Where I'm going to push them How I'll know I've gone too far

SECTION 4 — PUTTING THE WORK OUT

“I keep holding on to things, and I’m not putting them out… I’m such a perfectionist at times that it’s hard to let go. ” — Toreno

“More exposure is better — let things be rough around the edges. There’s never going to be a perfect scenario where everything is ready. Ever. You have to be able to adapt and live in that gray area where it’s kind of constant chaos, but it’s also a great atmosphere to keep flowing through and figure out how to ride that creative wave.” — Illenium

WORKSHEET 4.1 — THE HOLDING PATTERN

Everything finished, or close, that you haven’t put out yet.

The piece	How long it's been done	The reason it hasn't gone out

How many projects have been waiting longer than three months:

The reason that shows up in more than one row

“You’ve just got to take the leap. That’s my number one advice to anybody who ever asks me how I got to where I got. Take the leap of faith.” — Illenium