Animate Guardian not working

This is the first time I have tried to use animate guardian on any character.
I find it isn't working at all.

I place appropriate items on the ground, trigger the spell, loose some mana, but no guardian shows up. The items remain in place.

The gem is level 1, and I should be able to use items of level 33 or lower. I've tried with very low level items, no luck.

So, in order...
I place items on the ground, including chest, boots, gloves, helm, one hand weapon, and shield. The items are low level.

I activate Animate Guardian, with no result.

Screenshot of me trying.

For each item to apply you have to move the mouse over the item (highlight) and then activate the "animate guardian" spell (with the shortcut key or mouse click).