I have taught both adults as well as children and teenagers for the past 10 years. It is very difficult to tell which style will appeal to any particular person - of any age. It is important that we do not impose our own path onto anyone else. The best way to introduce anyone to calligraphy or lettering is to give them The Speedball Textbook. It has an excellent exemplar for at least 20 styles. In my beginning classes, I encourage people to try them all and see if there is one that they really enjoy. Many people will choose something that is quite unexpected. But, if they like the style, they will probably be more patient.
I find beginners are actually very good at gothic as a first style. There are some simplified versions that are perfect. The student learns the little diamond stroke and how to pull nice straight lines of different heights, and a few subtle curves. Because it looks like a picket fence, they are also learning how to look at the white space which is essential in every other style. I find italic to be more complicated with all the angles. But, I have also seen beginners who do best with italic because that is the one that is the most beautiful to them.
Neuland is another one of my favorites for beginners because it is comprised of all thick strokes, so the student has an opportunity to focus on the nib and realize on their own how they must turn the pen to keep it always thick and avoid any thins. But, Neuland is not a popular style, so it is hard to get people excited about it unless they are in my class and seeing all the possibilities. There are a ton of examples on my blog - but, I did not do a good job of labeling them, so you have to dig through over 2,000 envelopes to find them. <sigh> someday I hope to reorganize it so that it is more useful
www.pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.comJean Wilson
