The plastic material comprises a polymeric base media resin and visually differentiable granules present in situ. The polymeric resin media may be thermoplastic-based or thermoset-based or a combination thereof. The visually differentiable granules are blended from at least two particle color groups having substantially different opaque color hues. The visually differentiable granules are present in an amount sufficient to provide the resulting plastic material with an aesthetic appearance characterized by a depth of color typically imparted by various color hues, The visually differentiable granules may be present in an amount between about 0.25 and 30 percent by weight of the total polymeric composition in which they reside. A color additive system is provided. The additive system contains visually differentiable granules. The visually differentiable granules are composed of planar-shaped, colored material that are surface-pigmented or homogenous material.