I usually get a natural pallette for the critter that it'd have in the wild, then change it and modify it until I'm happy

Yeah, I usually try to do that myself, but sometimes I just can't seem to find a color that I'm happy with ;w;

Find a base color you want, try to avoid saturated colors as those tend to hurt the eyes. Then after you found your pass, pick some colors to compliment it. My character is a cool grey with some pink. It pops bit I didn't overuse it.

Yeah man, definitely. I used to have super saturated characters because they were based off of Happy Tree Friends, where everything was crazily colored and stuff. That and I could only use colored pencils at the time. Been going back and altering a lot of them so they're easier on the eyes, thank god. But yeah, I usually try to make the paws and eyes pop color wise, sort of a no holds barred type thing. Blue pawpads? Hell yea, don't care if it's natural or not XD

Agreed

for myself, i find i get impressions of colour from the personality or expression of the character im drawing. if that doesnt work i think about where that character is going to be placed habitat wise and what other animals/species would be around it.

It also helps to look at real animals that could be close to the character for some inspiration

Yeah, I get what you're saying, and it's pretty helpful :3 Unfortunately, the design is usually what comes first, so it's difficult to make tweaks when it gets to a certain point, because your mind wants you to do keep the character the same, even if you personally want to change them a little ;w;

the design is usually what comes first for me too, and once im happy with the design and personality/impression the character has, thats when ill start thinking of colours and the feeling the character gives me ^^

for me its normally Design=personality=colours=name

and remember, there are not strict rules about colour...and designs dont have to be concrete either. Small tweaks to a design can have a major impact on how others see them or how you see them yourself. Never cage yourself when it comes to design