I'm too sleepy to figure out how to comment tere. So you guys get this.
The best text on learning how to draw is a copy of Preston Blair's book(s) on drawing for animation. However that's only half the equation, because it lacks exercises. So you need to go to http://johnkcurriculum.blogspot.com/2009/12/preston-blair-le... and do what he tells you to. They will seem stupid at first. But trust John; a significant percentage of the talent in the Hollywood tv animation scene learnt their craft under his harsh tutelage.
Other textbooks on drawing I've read: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, The Vilppu Drawing Manual, The Animator's Workbook.
The combination of Preston Blair (long considered THE classic text on drawing for animation) and John K's exercises will VERY RAPIDLY teach you how to look at things,mbreak them down into simple shapes, and draw them convincingly. Other texts teach this but few start with the super-solid, super-simple cartoon art found in 1940s cartoons; you're immediately thrown into trying to break down a human body, or a car, or whatever, into shapes you don't understand yet. The simple characters wear their construction on their sleeves, so it's easy for you to understand it and learn.
I think we're hitting into a possible issue with these book recommendations.
Recommendations on learning/understanding something logically, and recommending a book based on how to learn how to do something can be very different.
I've read all of these art books (except Vilppu's), and I DON'T think the best text on how to learn how to draw is a copy of Preston Blair's books.
For me personally, I got the most advancement through Loomis' Figure Drawing For What It's Worth. I spent a lot time going over diagrams in the book. It transformed the way I approached drawing Other people, (especially people who get into art with no prior experience) swear by Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
In this case, a lot of what you think the best text would be depends on which way you prefer to draw. I like figure drawing mostly, so I learn towards Loomis and Hogarth. Someone who likes general life/possibly painting would prefer Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Someone who prefers animation, would definitely love Preston Blair's books (and possibly Fun with a Pencil).
I think not only a good book recommendation is useful, but a good useful explanation needs to go hand in hand with it.
Note the important caveat to my recommendation of the Blair: it is the best text on drawing IF YOU USE JOHN K'S EXERCISES. By itself it is a good book on cartooning; with the addition of John's exercises it becomes an awesome power tool for building skill.
(And honestly the real value here is John's exercises; you can get almost as much value out of them by freeze-framing great cartoons and drawing off of them. In fact I know for a while he was trying to package his course into a book, copiously illustrated with examples from the classic cartoons to work from, but ran into rights issues.)
Loomis is awesome too, I learnt a hell of a lot from him. I also learnt a lot from Bridgman's "Constructive Anatomy". But I feel the simple starting point of John's exercises for the Blair book really make it a great place to begin, and work up from.
(Of course I may be biased, as as I'm a cartoonist who's passed through Spümcø.)
Another author I would had with a very fun and get you very fast drawing : Loomis, especially "Fun with a pencil", that can be fun (as the Preston Blair book btw), free online. Both are very good books for beginners (and a good refresher for more advanced drawing).
I would stay away from Vilppu if I was a beginner — it's not that fun, and Drawing On the Right Side is very nice to "get" how to draw from reality. But I think those books (and the two others) should come way after !
Older book, like "The Practice and Science of Drawing" can be educating to read, but clearly not as first or second books, more to learn how drawing had been teached, and find things that show you more rigor (in an academic way).
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Nicolaides' "The Natural Way to Draw." While I never finished it, I liked it well enough and it's regarded as a classic. I'll have to check out Preston Blair's books.
The best text on learning how to draw is a copy of Preston Blair's book(s) on drawing for animation. However that's only half the equation, because it lacks exercises. So you need to go to http://johnkcurriculum.blogspot.com/2009/12/preston-blair-le... and do what he tells you to. They will seem stupid at first. But trust John; a significant percentage of the talent in the Hollywood tv animation scene learnt their craft under his harsh tutelage.
Other textbooks on drawing I've read: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, The Vilppu Drawing Manual, The Animator's Workbook.
The combination of Preston Blair (long considered THE classic text on drawing for animation) and John K's exercises will VERY RAPIDLY teach you how to look at things,mbreak them down into simple shapes, and draw them convincingly. Other texts teach this but few start with the super-solid, super-simple cartoon art found in 1940s cartoons; you're immediately thrown into trying to break down a human body, or a car, or whatever, into shapes you don't understand yet. The simple characters wear their construction on their sleeves, so it's easy for you to understand it and learn.