So... you've arrived, excellent.

All my guides are created in the English languauge only! I am not a translation service as I only speak and read English! If you need any guides translated to your languauge use DeepL or Google Translate websites. Complaints about any of my guides being in English languauge will be ignored!

Questions & Answers

Q: Can the male and female character use the same tattoo if I just use one base body texture only?

A: That's wont work because the UV maps are different for their bodies. You need to re-align it to the other gender's texture map shape. Otherwise it will look really odd or won't show up properly in game.

Q: I ported a high-res tattoo in my low-res Honey Select why does it look so gigantic and all messy?

A:  Because, you dunderhead! The tattoo texture you created doesn't work for your low-resolution build of Honey Select 1 either resize the texture tattoo you made to low-res (1024x1024) or install 4K/LRE resolution in your Honey Select. Check the Illusion Soft Discord for details on that it will not be covered here.

Q: I saved my texture as a .DDS file format but why is the texture not showing up in Honey Select 1? It's all blank. :(

A:  In my opinion. The DDS format can be weird due to the way Honey Select reads the layer format... I guess... Just stick to .PNG format to make things easier. 

STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND FOCUS ON THE GUIDE DAMMIT! 😡

Step 1, Image Software is Required

Make sure you downloaded the REQUIRED TOOLS before you get started on modding. I'll be using the image editing software GIMP because I am familiar with it. You just need a image editing software that can save PNG files so that they can be easily imported into HS1. If you want to make a high-res tattoo, make sure your Honey Select 1 is high-resolution; otherwise, your tattoo is highly likely going to fuck up when you import it into a low-res game. 

Step 2, Texture Sizes...

The default texture resolution is 1024 × 1024, which works fine, but the tattoos can look pretty rough and pixelated at that size.

For much cleaner and sharper tattoo details, I recommend using 4096 × 4096 high-resolution textures. This applies to both the face and body textures by the way.

Some fellow modders have pushed textures even further to 8192 × 8192, but I wouldn't recommend going that far. Most people are still playing Honey Select 1 on potato PCs, and throwing giant textures at them might make their graphics cards question their life choices. So I say, don't be a meanie and avoid that.

Step 3, Getting Started...

Alright, time to open SB3 Utility! You’ll need this software to start creating your Tattoo mod pack.

“But where do I find it?” Wherever you installed SB3 Utility!

For this guide, I made a handy shortcut on my desktop and highlighted it with a BLUE BOX so you can easily spot it. ⬇️

The software should look something like this when you first open it. Nothing has been loaded yet, so the main window will be completely empty. That’s perfectly normal.

See the message log I highlighted in the box? This area keeps you informed about what SB3 Utility is doing. It shows things like where the program was launched from, imported content, errors, and other useful messages.

For now, you don’t need to do anything with it. Just make sure SB3 Utility is open and ready for the next step.⬇️

Step 4, Making your list file, Part 1

Now go into the folder directory path of abdata/chara/list/characustom and make a copy of the base game's master list. It's named 00.unity3d. ⬇️

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP!

DO NOT EDIT THE ORIGINAL 00.unity3d FILE. Keep the original untouched and safely backed up. Editing the main file directly can cause serious problems with your game and make it much harder to fix if something goes wrong.

When in doubt, make another backup. It’s much easier to restore a file than to repair a broken game installation. 😱

Here’s the copy of 00.unity3d you just created. This is the version you’ll be working with, while the original stays safely untouched.  ⬇️ 

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP!

DO NOT EDIT THE ORIGINAL 00.unity3d FILE. Keep the original untouched and safely backed up. Editing the main file directly can cause serious problems with your game and make it much harder to fix if something goes wrong.

When in doubt, make another backup. It’s much easier to restore a file than to repair a broken game installation. 😱

Now rename your copied file to something you’ll easily recognize.

For this tutorial, I’ll be calling mine Zebs_GuideT.unity3d. You can name yours whatever you like, as long as you can tell it apart from the original.

And no, you don’t have to copy my filename exactly. Pick your own name. The goal of this guide is to teach you how to make the mod yourself, not have you copy every single thing I do.⬇️

Now open your renamed list file in SB3 Utility. The easiest way is to simply drag and drop the file into the SB3 Utility window.

Once it loads successfully, the software should look something like this: ⬇️

⬆️ Before we start editing anything, it helps to understand what the different prefixes mean. These prefixes tell SB3 Utility which category the list belongs to.

ca_ — Custom Accessory

Files starting with ca_ stand for Custom Accessory. These lists cover accessories and are separated into categories based on where they’re equipped, such as the head, face, hands, legs, and more.

One useful thing to know is that these accessories can generally be used by both male and female characters without gender restrictions.

cf_ — Custom Female

Files starting with cf_ stand for Custom Female. These lists contain the various character customization options available for female characters, including:

• Hair

• Clothing

• Tattoos

• Wrinkles

• Moles

• Sunburns

• Eyebrows

• Eyes

• Eye highlights

• Makeup

• Pubic hair

• Nipples

• And more

Basically, if it’s a customizable feature for female characters, there’s a good chance it has a cf_ list.

cm_ — Custom Male

Files starting with cm_ stand for Custom Male. These work similarly to the female lists, but the male character creator has fewer customization categories.

The available lists include:

• Hair

• Eyes

• Eyebrows

• Tattoos

• Clothing

• Heads

• Wrinkles

• Face skin

• Body skin

• Facial hair

And that covers most of the available male customization options.

One Important Exception

There’s one interesting detail worth remembering: Eyebrows and Eyes lists can use the same mod file regardless of gender restrictions. The only problem with the Eyebrows is that they will be misaligned depened on which geneder is using them.

I’ve made plenty of mods using this setup myself, so this is one of those little tricks that can save you some unnecessary work when creating your own mods.

Since we’re creating a tattoo mod for this tutorial, there’s no reason to keep all the other lists. Let’s clean things up by removing the ones we don’t need for now.

Select the lists you want to remove, then go to:

Assets → Attention! → Remove

This will remove the unnecessary lists from the project while leaving only the ones you need for your tattoo mod. It’ll make the list much easier to work with and keep things organized for the next steps.⬇️

And there you go! If you’ve followed the guide this far, you should now have only the tattoo lists remaining.

Next, we need to make a few changes before the list is ready to work in Honey Select 1. Double-check and correct the file paths and CAB-String entries so everything points to the proper locations.

Once those are corrected, your tattoo list will be ready for the next step. ⬇️

Step 5, CAB Strings & File path directories.

First, let’s fix the CAB-String.

Go to File → CABinet(s) and make sure Automatic Renaming is enabled. With this option checked, SB3 Utility will automatically update the CAB-String when you save the list package, so you won’t have to change it manually.

With that taken care of, let’s move on to fixing the file paths.⬇️

As you can see below, this isn’t the correct path for your custom list. It’s still pointing to the base game’s vanilla list instead of the copy you created.

To make Honey Select 1 load your custom list correctly, you’ll need to change the list path directory so it points to your renamed file.

Let’s fix that now.⬇️

This is your custom list, highlighted inside the blue box.

Make sure you copy the folder path exactly as it appears. A small mistake in the path can prevent Honey Select 1 from finding and loading your list correctly. ⬇️

Select the list entry, then go to Assets → Rename or simply press the F2 key.

A rename window should appear. It should look similar to the example shown below. ⬇️

This window will pop up. Enter the new file path string, then click OK to apply the change to your custom list.

That takes care of the list path. Now let’s move on to the next step: telling Honey Select 1 where to find your tattoo texture mod file. ⬇️

Step 6, Making your list file, part 2

Why not start by creating some female tattoos, Zeb?

That’s exactly what we’ll be doing for this guide. Go ahead and highlight the female tattoo entries you want to work with so we can set them up for the next step. ⬇️

Double-click the highlighted areas to open the two windows for the female face and body tattoo sections.

At first glance, all the information might look a little overwhelming, but don’t worry. It’s much simpler than it looks. We’ll go through each section step by step. ⬇️

⬇️⬇️⬇️ Understanding the Highlighted Areas. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The highlighted sections below are the important parts of the tattoo list. I’ll give you a quick explanation of what each one does so you know exactly what you’re editing. 

Blue = ID, Slot Number, and Name

This section contains the ID, slot number, and name of the tattoo entry. 

Yellow = This is the folder path to your texture mod.

For better organization, I recommend keeping your mods in this format:

Chara/YOURNAME/modname.unity3d

Following this structure keeps your files organized and makes it much easier for Honey Select 1 and SB3 Utility to locate the correct mod file.

Red = This is the slot that points to your tattoo texture mod file's name.

For this guide, I’m naming mine Fem Face Tattoo. The name needs to match the corresponding entry in your list so SB3 Utility and Honey Select 1 know which mod file to load in game.

You can use whatever name you want—just make sure the name matches wherever it’s referenced.

Green — Texture Coordinates
In my experience, this section isn’t something you’ll need to worry about for this tutorial. These values control the coordinates where the texture is displayed on the face or body.

Since we’re using the entire face or body texture as our template, I’m leaving these values at 0. There’s no reason to adjust them for what we’re doing here since its the entire body and head.

What About the Other Numbers?

You might be wondering about the numbers between the Red and Green sections. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what they’re used for, and they don’t appear to affect this particular setup.

For now, leave them alone.

The same goes for the number immediately after the Green section. We don’t need to change it for this tutorial, so leave it as-is and save yourself a needless headache.

Now let’s change the path so it points to your own mod folder.

Click the Join/Separate button. A new window will appear containing several lines of text.

Delete every line except the one for the tattoo slot you’re currently working with. This keeps the entry clean and ensures you’re only editing the path needed for your mod.

There it is! The new window is open and ready for us to edit. ⬇️

Now remove any unnecessary lines or information that you aren’t using.

Once you’ve cleaned it up, click Join/Separate to apply your changes to the list.

⬇️Want to add more tattoo slots? Just copy and paste an existing line, rename it, and give it a unique 9-digit ID. This makes it easy to add additional entries without starting from scratch or running into ID conflicts. 

The same process can be used for body tattoos, moles, suntans, and makeup. They’re all texture-based entries, so the same path-editing method applies to all those things.

Once you’ve finished correcting all the file paths, it’s time to save your work.

Go to File → Save .unity3d, or simply press Ctrl + S.

When you save, SB3 Utility will automatically update the CAB-String number and create a backup of the file. Don’t worry it’s completely normal behavior for the tool to be doing.

Your updated .unity3d list is now saved and ready for the next step.

END OF LIST FILE CREATION! CONGRATS!🥳

Creating the Tattoo Mod Pack, Serious Bizz

For this part of the guide, you’ll need a copy of a base-game tattoo texture file to use as the starting point for your tattoo mod.

Navigate to:

HoneySelect/abdata/chara

Find the tattoo pack highlighted in the example below. For this demonstration, I recommend using cf_t_tattoo_b_15.unity3d because it contains only four texture files, making it a simple starting point.

Make a copy of the file and place it in your mod folder to use for your modding work. You can always add more tattoo textures later if you want to expand the pack or make other packs. ⬇️

Create a new folder and give it whatever name you want. For this guide, I’m calling mine Tutorial since it’s being used specifically for this walkthrough.

Choose a name that makes sense to you and helps you easily identify the folder later. ⬇️

Rename the mod package file you just copied and move it into the new mod folder you created.

Give it a name that clearly identifies your tattoo pack. This will make it easier to find and manage later. ⬇️

Now open the mod package by dragging the file into SB3 Utility.

This works similarly to how we opened the list file earlier, but this time we’re working with the tattoo texture package instead.

Once the file loads, SB3 Utility should look something like the example below. ⬇️

First, let’s fix the CAB-String.

Go to File → CABinet(s) and make sure Automatic Renaming is checked. This allows SB3 Utility to automatically update the CAB-String when we save any edits done on the mod package.

With that done, we can move on to fixing the file path. ⬇️

Click the MonoB & Other [1] tab, then select Assets → Rename or press the F2 key.

A window will appear allowing you to edit the file path. Enter the new path you want to use, then click OK to apply the changes to the package.

Once that’s done, the texture file package will be pointing to the location of your mod file.⬇️

There, the file path is now correct, but we’re not finished just yet. There are still a few things we need to adjust.

Go back to the Img [4] tab. This is where the tattoo texture assets are stored inside the package.

The number inside the brackets tells you how many textures are currently stored in the package. It could be as little as 1 or potentially as many as 100 or more.

For this guide, I recommend keeping the package to around 50 textures or fewer. The more textures you add, the longer SB3 Utility may take to save the package. On lower-end PCs, larger packages can potentially cause the program to become unresponsive or even crash.

If you’re making a large tattoo pack, consider splitting it into multiple packages instead of putting everything into one. ⬇️

For this guide, I’ll only be adding two tattoos to keep things simple. You can add as many tattoos as you want to your own package, as long as your setup can handle them.

If you decide you don’t want a particular tattoo in your mod, select its texture slot and go to:

Assets → Attention! → Remove

This will remove the selected texture from your mod package. Keep only the textures you actually want to include. ⬇️

Want to add another texture to your mod package? Simply drag the texture image file into SB3 Utility to open it.

Once it’s loaded, select one of the existing tattoo texture slots in your package. This will be the slot we use to import the new texture. ⬇️

This window will pop up, just like the example below. That’s completely normal.

So, how do we actually add our tattoo? There are two ways to do it: we can either replace an existing texture or import a completely new one.

For this guide, I’m not replacing anything yet. I’m simply showing you what happens when you import an image into SB3 Utility and explaining a few of the buttons you’ll be using.

I won’t cover every function in this window because, honestly, I don’t know what every single button does either. We’ll stick to the functions that are actually useful for making our tattoo mod.

EXPORT

The EXPORT button extracts the selected texture from your package and dumps it into your mod folder.

Keep in mind, it exports the texture inside your package, not the image you just imported. Select the texture you want to extract first, then click EXPORT.

REPLACE

The REPLACE button swaps an existing texture in your mod package with a new one.

Try to keep the image dimensions the same when replacing textures to avoid potential issues. You can also use different resolutions if you know what you’re doing with texture coordinates, like we covered earlier with the list file.

For example, you can replace a low-resolution texture with a higher-resolution version, or vice versa. Just make sure the texture dimensions and your list setup are appropriate for what you’re trying to achieve.

ADD IMAGE

The ADD IMAGE button takes an image you’ve imported through the Images tab and adds it to your package as a new texture slot.

After adding it, you can rename the texture using the box underneath the Texture2D section.

REMOVE

The REMOVE button deletes the selected texture slot from your package.

Select the texture you no longer want, click REMOVE, and it will be permanently removed from the package when you save your changes.

That’s really all you need to know for the basic tattoo workflow. We’ll stick with these functions for now and leave the more mysterious buttons alone. ⬇️

Before you start porting tattoos, you’ll need some textures to work with. After all, we need something to actually put the tattoos on.

If you don’t already have the necessary texture templates, download the BASE TEXTURES HERE first! These serve as the template maps for creating your tattoos, so make sure you have them ready before moving on to the next step.

Once you’ve downloaded the base textures, you’re ready to start creating and porting your tattoos to HS1! ⬇️

Once you’ve downloaded the base textures, open them in the image-editing software of your choice and start creating your tattoo texture.

For this guide, I’m using GIMP because it’s the software I’m most familiar with. You can use whatever image editor you prefer, as long as it can export your finished texture as a .PNG file.

Important: Use PNG format. Avoid using .BMP (Bitmap) or .JPEG files, as they can cause compatibility issues and may make SB3 Utility behave unexpectedly when importing your textures.

Once your tattoo is finished, export it as a .PNG and you’ll be ready to import it into SB3 Utility ⬇️

⬆️ Now that the base textures are open, it’s time to actually make your tattoo.

Create a new layer above the base texture. This gives you a separate workspace for your tattoo while keeping the original template untouched.

From there, draw your tattoo directly onto the new layer or import an image you want to use. Position and edit it until you’re happy with how it looks on the template.

Keep the base texture intact underneath your tattoo layer. It will help you line everything up correctly. ⬆️

The base texture starts at the default 1024 × 1024 resolution, which is considered low-resolution.

If you want sharper and more detailed tattoos, you can scale the texture up to 4096 × 4096. For this guide, I’ll be using the higher resolution because I prefer the extra detail and cleaner results.

Keep in mind: higher-resolution textures will increase the overall file size of your mod. If file size is a concern, sticking with 1024 × 1024 may be the better option. ⬇️

The base texture starts at 1024 × 1024, which is the default low-resolution size.

Want cleaner, sharper tattoo details? Scale it up to 4096 × 4096. That’s the resolution I’ll be using for this guide because I prefer the extra detail and sharper results.

One thing to keep in mind: higher resolution also means a larger file size. If you’re trying to keep your mod lightweight, 1024 × 1024 will work just fine. ⬇️

Alright, once you’re happy with your tattoo, it’s time to prepare the final texture.

Delete or hide the base texture layer underneath your tattoo. You won’t need it anymore, since it was only used as a template.

Next, export your tattoo as a transparent .PNG file. Give the file whatever name you want, preferably something that makes it easy to identify later.

Your tattoo texture is now ready to import into SB3 Utility. ⬇️

Now it’s time to bring your finished textures into SB3 Utility.

Simply drag all of your tattoo image(s) into the SB3 Utility window. Once they’re loaded, you’ll be ready to import them into your mod package as new texture slots.⬇️

Before importing your tattoos, make sure each texture is named exactly the same as the corresponding texture slot in your list.

The names need to match. If they don’t, Honey Select 1 won’t be able to find the correct texture, and your tattoo may not appear in-game.

Double-check the spelling and naming before moving on. A tiny naming mistake can save you a lot of troubleshooting later. ⬇️

Now for the easy part.

Select the tattoo slot you want to replace, then swap out the existing texture with your new tattoo. That’s really all there is to it.

Once you’ve replaced the textures you want, save your mod package. With everything saved, it’s time to fire up Honey Select 1 and see your tattoos in action.⬇️

And there it is! The tattoos loaded successfully and are showing up in-game.

If you followed the guide from start to finish, you should be seeing the same results. If something went wrong, don’t panic. Go back to the Creating the Tattoo Mod Pack section and work through the steps again. In most cases, a missed file path, incorrect name, or skipped step is the culprit.

That’s it for this guide. I hope it helped you understand the process and gave you everything you need to start making your own tattoo mods for HS1.

Good luck with your modding, and have fun creating! ⬇️

🥂END OF TATTOO MOD GUIDE! 🥂