I am sad to say that Linux is not up to the task of being your graphics
workstation if you are more than a relaxed avid amateur. We have no
tools to manage more than 8 bit colour depth. though I recall a
suggestion that cinepaint handles 24 bit. the usual tools are good
enough for me at this point.


Using samba to manage shares makes the networking very easy. you can
get the package from the add/remove selection at the bottom of your
applications menu on each of your machines. then under administration
you will find a shared folders option where you can create/manage how
and what things are shared. under the general properties tab you put
the exact same name for domain/work group on all three machines.