Simplify colors/texture in design (Photoshop or Illustrator)

[JohnFiore12]

So i found this old design and i am looking to simplify the colors on it and remove the texture. I was planning on using AI image trace but it comes out not how I like it. Anyone know what tool i should use to try and remove the texture? i thought of something in the photoshop filter gallary or image trace/changing my settings. Thanks!

[kevin stohlmeyer]

An easier way to think about this is to remove all the exising color and keep the black outline using selection tools.

You can then re-add the colors as different layers. This was the first pass using black in Select>Color Range.

[kevin stohlmeyer]

From here you could continue to clean up the fur or take this into Illustrator and try image trace with one color (set to ignore white).