1) Created a Team Site Site Collection and enabled the Publishing Infrastructre (Site Collection and Site).
2) Through SharePoint Designer uploaded a Custom Master Page and Preview file (Actually just copied and renamed a similar one).
3) Added the entries to the Composed Looks Table under Site Settings–Also referenced an image in the Composed Looks.
4) Changed the Composed Look to the new Composed Look.
5) Created a new Team Site subsite.
(Had the traditional blue and white with flashy web part.)
6) Activated the the Site Publishing Infrastructure.
(The Site changed to my inherited Custom Look. This surprized me since I didn’t think Custom Looks was inheritable.)
7) For the heck of it, changed the subsite to another Custom Look.
(Not surprizing was that my new Custom Look from the Site Collection was not present to be reselected.)
8) Stumped out how I would even restore the subsite to the Custom Master Page.
(Was able to reinherit the Custom Look.)
What am I missing to be able to control the Custom Look on my subsite?
I’m pretty sure if I copy my Custom Master and Custom Preview File and setup my Composed Look Table on the subsite–All would be well in CustomLooksLand–I’ll do this today. (Thanks for the suggestion)
I still don’t like the way this works: Custom Looks is kind of Inheritable –but not Inheritable.
Interesting information –but what question are you answering? What part of how Custom Looks work are you relating to?
Okay so custom looks:
1) Get the SharePoint 2013 Palette tool: http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=38182
 and create your palette.
2) Create your font file (Simple XML doesn’t require a tool)
3) Create your master page and preview file
4) Enter your composed theme into composed looks <Example values in brackets, use relative URLs>
Name <Name your theme>
  Â
Master Page URL </_catalogs/masterpage/shiney.master>
  Â
Theme URL </_catalogs/theme/15/shiney.spcolor>
  Â
Image URL </_layouts/15/images/image_bg001.jpg>
  Â
Font Scheme URL </_catalogs/theme/15/fontscheme.spfont>
  Â
Display Order <multiple of 5 but not of 10 ie 5/15/25>
5) If you are using publishing make sure all files are published.
6) Go to change the look and your theme should be visible, select, preview and apply
Done.
I make a feature that deploys this, a module deploys the files and insert the list item into the list, then this can be just activated on new sites, updates would have to be synced.
