# Per particle rotating
**URL:** https://forum.highend3d.com/t/per-particle-rotating/729
**Category:** Maya
**Tags:** mel
**Created:** [May 10, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/per-particle-rotating/729 "2010-05-10T10:34:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mary-poppins](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/mary-poppins)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/per-particle-rotating/729/1 "2010-05-10T10:34:17Z")
Hi,
I would like to make a cactus and thorns with particles. I'm not familiar with MEL, so I searched the web and found [this link](http://www.jeremyraven.co.nz/archive.html). I did as it says at 'POINT INSTANCER IN SURFACE NORMAL DIRECTION' caption. The only problem is that my thorn cone shape's pivot Y axes is not in the direction of the surface normal, rather the X or Z axes is. So my thorns are lain down on the surface.
How can I rotate the particles?
Thank you
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### Author:  [@joojaa](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/joojaa)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/per-particle-rotating/729/2 "2010-05-10T13:01:49Z")
err isnt it easier to just rotate the thorn?
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### Author:  [@mary-poppins](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/mary-poppins)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/per-particle-rotating/729/3 "2010-05-10T14:15:34Z")
Yes, it is much easier. Thank you! And how can I move particles to the surface exactl? I use nurbsSurface, so particles connected to its CVs. When I move the instanced shape and freeze transformation, the particles moves too, but unfortunately the thorns on the top of the cactus are moved into the surface, while ones on the lower part are fit well.