Suggestions for books about learning to draw cartoons

[Reverant]

Well, the title says it all. I've been a passionate lover of newspaper comics and then webcomics my entire life, and I've decided that I want to screw around and make my own as a hobby. Unfortunately, I have absolutely zero drawing skills. None. I've never taken an art class in my life, and the best I can manage are stick figures that would embarrass a 10-year-old.

So, I figure I'd pick up one of those "Learn How to Draw Cartoons!" books and see if I can learn by myself. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on those? It's a long shot, but maybe someone has tried this before me....

[Spectre-7]

Do a search for books by Andrew Loomis. They're simply wonderful cartooning books, and a lot of them can be found online for free (legally, I believe).

[Reverant]

Found a website with a .rar file containing his books in PDF format. Here it is for those interested:

http://www.placidchaos.com/AM/index.php/2006/02/21/andrew_loomis

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to dive into these and see how it goes.

[Spectre-7]

Best of luck to ya, Reverant. :)

[muddi900]

Making Comics by Scott McCloud

It is not really for drawing per se, but it gives you a great insight about the tools on offer and how to setup a comic narrative.

[Bone]

These books are a great start. I'll just add that even when drawing cartoons, you will be drawing things from life. So draw everything you see, all the time. Draw plants, animals, people, buildings, landscapes, household utensils... you will eventually need to draw most of these things in comics and it helps to have a realistic view of their proportions before you abstract or simplify them.

[Scaryfaced]

Also, if you're just starting out, star people are the new stick figures. They're simple, but look far better than a stick figure. I tend to use them for quick drawings and to plan out how I want to position a character. Here's a quicky for an example...
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn428/Scaryfaced/starman.jpg

[Ink Asylum]

They're targeted at kids, but if you've never drawn in your life you might want to start with an Ed Emberley book (http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Emberley/e/B000AQ77ZK). He focuses on breaking objects down into simple shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. Even when you move on to more detailed drawings, seeing the basic shapes inside your subjects helps a lot.

[boratika]

Because it never gets old:

http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo204/bringmethehorizon_04/how-to-draw-an-owl-25123-1282662850-14.jpg