Every time I open a new canvas, it seems I’m racking my brain for colour combinations. Here is a list of my favourite colour scheme tools which I frequently use when designing.

Kuler
http://kuler.adobe.com/

Kuler, run by Adobe, is a great place to browse user-submitted palates. You can browse by Most Popular, Highest Rated, Newest, or just search for a certain phrase or colour (try typing in ‘apple’!). It’s also very easy to create your own colour scheme to share with others.
Palattes open as large solid blocks across the top of the page, which can be expanded down the entire screen when clicked. From this you can easily take a screenshot, open it up in photoshop, and use the eyedropper tool to grab the colours.

Colour Lovers
http://www.colourlovers.com/

Another great site for inspiration is Colour Lovers. It operates on the same user-submitted principle as Adobe, but instead of just displaying palates you can also browse solid blocks of colour. Checking the Trends section lets you browse what colour schemes are popular in today’s websites and magazines.

Colr
http://www.colr.org/

Another way to come up with a great colour combination is to pull them directly from a photograph. Using Colr, upload your image. It will then automatically create a scheme using colours from that image.

Color Blender
http://colorblender.com/

If you already have a base colour in mind, this tool will help you choose complimentary colours.
What’s more, you can download the schemes for photoshop or illustrator, or even email them to yourself for safe-keeping.

Color Schemer
http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html

Color Schemer works on the same premises as Color Blender, but is more user-friendly. You can enter in the HEX code and let it automatically find matching colours, or choose from a standard palate at the bottom. It’s also easy to adjust your scheme using the Lighten or Darken tools.