Kind of a mix:
Set it in your layout file :-
<CheckBox android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="new checkbox"
android:background="@drawable/checkbox_background"
android:button="@drawable/checkbox" />
where the @drawable/checkbox will look like:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_checked="true" android:state_focused="true"
android:drawable="@drawable/checkbox_on_background_focus_yellow" />
<item android:state_checked="false" android:state_focused="true"
android:drawable="@drawable/checkbox_off_background_focus_yellow" />
<item android:state_checked="false"
android:drawable="@drawable/checkbox_off_background" />
<item android:state_checked="true"
android:drawable="@drawable/checkbox_on_background" />
</selector>