How can i draw realistic fabric folds and drapery in character art?

[Ava46]

I’ve been trying to get better at drawing realistic fabric folds in my character illustrations, but I keep getting stuck on how to handle the transition between sharp creases and soft drapery. My latest piece has a cloak that just looks stiff and wrong, no matter how many reference photos I study for the underlying form.

[Luke18]

I used to chase the sharpest creases, but my cloak still looked stiff. I started watching how the light wraps around the fabric and how the cloth folds create soft transitions where it drapes over the body, not where the crease sits. It helped a little.

[Ronald61]

I block in the big shapes first with a pale tone, then add a thin darker line along the creases where the cloth turns.

[Zachary.L]

Do you think the problem is the pose or the weight of the cloak, something off with the underlayer?

[RobertR]

I drifted away from it for a bit, left a cloak on a chair, came back and realized I was tracing the edge instead of the fall of the cloth. I started watching how scarves drape when hung, and it helped me compare the cloth fall to the surface beneath.