Smoke at Ground Level

Finished hand-drawn marker editorial illustration, vertical 9:16. Ground-level close view of wildfire smoke rolling across a scorched forest floor. One enormous, squat, asymmetrical smoke bank occupies the lower two-thirds, its rounded hunched back and downward-curling front suggesting a crouching character without eyes, mouth or limbs. It curls around one tiny jagged blackened stump near the lower left; a small rust-orange ember glows at the stump’s base. Smoke is the unmistakable focal point. Broad slate-grey and muted mauve fills, two simple lighter wave-shaped bands within the smoke, loose confident marker outlines and slight stroke overlap. Pale warm-grey background with generous empty space above; a single uneven charcoal ground stroke. Soft diffuse light, no dramatic flames, no upright plume, no sun. Bold thumbnail-readable shapes, exaggerated scale, restrained detail, no intricate hatching. No people, text, logos or watermarks.